Life Back to Normal
by apackofangryblueberries
Summary: When Goku returns after defeating Majin Buu, life returns back to normal.  But how normal is normal? The possibilities are endless, so leave a suggestion for future chapters in the Reviews section!  Says Goku and Goten, but really can include anyone. RR?
1. A Hero's Welcome

Chapter 1: A Hero's Welcome

"And we can go fishing, and we can go hiking, and we can train and we can do everything together!" little Goten exclaimed happily as he and his family returned to their little house. He was practically bouncing up and down with excitement as they walked towards their home.

Goku had just managed to finish off Buu using the spirit bomb, and after announcing to his overjoyed family that he had been returned to life for good, had used his Instant Transmission to bring them back home from the lookout. It was a warm late-morning and everyone was in a good mood—Chichi still couldn't get over the fact that he husband would be returning for good after seven years of being a single mother. Gohan was also happy of his father's returning, but he was slightly preoccupied thinking about Videl—she had seemed so happy to see him and he found himself missing her already. But Goten was easily the most ecstatic about this new addition to his family—he would finally have a daddy—just like Trunks did. Though he had only known him for a day, he could already tell that they would be close as could be. They even looked alike, and he could just tell that he was the most loving man in the whole universe—he had found his hero, his idol.

"And you can take me to the park, and I can show you all my toys, and—"

"Alright, Goten, I think we get the picture," Chichi attempted only halfheartedly with a forced smile. She knew Goten was so excited, but at the same time, she knew that her husband was must be exhausted and not used to his son's boundless energy. She didn't want him to get worn out, but she also didn't want to put a damper on Goten's spirit.

"Yeah!" Goku burst out suddenly, looking genuinely excited as he failed to notice his wife's interjection, "I can't wait! And we can spar together, and go out to eat, and then we can spar some more! And then eat some more!"

Chichi and her eldest son fell over in exasperation—he really hadn't changed one bit in all these years. Goten, just beamed at his father—he really was everything that Gohan had told him stories about.

"Jeez father," Gohan said tentatively, "Aren't you beat from that fight? I know I am…"

"Hmm," his father said pensively, "I guess I am kinda tired. But I'm _really _hungry! I hope you made a lot of food Chichi!"

The gang all fell over, again.

After realizing that the food she had in the house would not be nearly enough to satisfy 3 saiyans for dinner, Chichi informed her spouse that she would have to go out to get food for that night's meal, so dinner would be later than usual. Goku didn't seem to mind though; he was sure that he could fish out a fish or find some fruit to hold him over. Besides, it had been almost a decade since he'd seen his oldest boy, and they had a lot of catching up to do, not to mention getting to know his youngest in proper.

After Chichi had set out towards town and Goku had re-settled into his house, he, Goten, and Gohan all headed out to the river/lake to catch some fish, and do some catching up.

"Daddy!" Goten shrieked as he flailed his body around in his father's hands after being picked up by surprise, "put me down!"

"Hehe! Nope! You're goin' in you little stinker!" Goku replied, looking overjoyed as he tossed his youngest son into the lake.

"No fair!" Goten spluttered as he broke the surface of the cool water for air, giving his father his best puppy-dog face, "you caught me by surprise! And look, you got my clothes all wet!"

"Well, you snooze you loose kiddo, at least that's what I always sa—"

Goku was cut off as his oldest son barreled into him from behind, knocking him headfirst into the lake.

"No fair, Gohan!" Goku said, putting on precisely the same expression as his son, who was laughing his head off next to him, "I was gloating my victory and you hit me from behind!"

It was Gohan's turn to laugh now as he stripped off all of his clothes and laid them on the grassy bank.

"Well, at least my clothes aren't soaking wet," he gloated as he sprang into the water, doing his best to splash his brother and father as much as he could.

Goku and Goten took off their clothes as well and rejoined Gohan in the cool water, savoring the feeling of cold water on their skin as the hot sun beat down on their faces. It was hard to imagine at the moment, but if Goku hadn't been able to defeat Buu, this scene would not have been possible. Moments like these made hard times seem bearable, because they promised happiness and good times if one persevered.

Gohan and his father had been floating for about ten minutes, when finally Goku broke the silence.

"You know I've been watching you, Gohan," Goku said to his son as they both drifted along in the water. Goten was busy off trying to catch the biggest fish possible, "you cannot know how proud you've made me."

"Thanks, dad," Gohan said, trying to keep his voice steady, though it was difficult for him. He didn't want his dad to see him sad or upset—not on his first day back with him.

Gohan couldn't hide his feelings from his father though—Goku could see that Gohan still blamed himself for his father's death, and that he had been trying to hard to please his father since he'd been gone, even though he could not see or touch him. Goku didn't respond to Gohan though; he didn't want today to be marred by any sort of unhappiness. Today was to be a day for happiness and joy; he would deal with this at a later date. Instead, he decided to pursue a topic that was actually new to him, something that he hadn't seen in Otherworld.

"So," he said, a smile curling across his face as he tried to act nonchalant, "wanna tell me about Videl? You two seem to get along just great"

"Father!" Gohan spluttered, losing his sense of balance in the water as he fell in, "we're just friends, gosh!"

"Oh come on Gohan, do you really think you can hide that from your old man?" Goku said mischievously as he changed his position in the water so that he faced his son, "I may not be able to do math and stuff like you can, but you better believe that I know it when my own son is lying to me. There's nothing to be ashamed of, son. I think its fantastic."

Gohan just blushed as he tried to avoid his father's gaze

"Say, I don't think that we've been out here long enough for you to get a sunburn, so I'm assuming that you're blushing, am I right?" He said, his smile getting broader.

Gohan just turned a deeper shade of red as he sunk his head down into the water. Goku could have sworn the water was boiling around his face as Gohan's head submerged.

"DADDY!" came a shout from behind the two men, "look how big this fish is, daddy!"

"Thank goodness Goten decided to show up now," Gohan thought as he turned around, trying to find where his brother was coming from

"Wow!" Goku exclaimed, as he spotted his son—or rather, a fish "walking" towards them, "That's enormous! I can't even see you underneath it!"

Goten could only grin as he set the monstrous fish down on the bank of the lake. He bounded towards his family as quickly as he could, splashing them as much as possible.

From there, the rest of the afternoon slipped by pleasantly—Goten's rejoining his brother and father had initiated a splash fight that turned into a game of father-son tag, that turned into a game of super saiyan king of the hill. Goku was so happy that he was finally starting to make up all the time that he had lost with his boys when he had been dead. After all the roughhousing had ended with the three of them sprawled out on the bank, exhausted, they cooked up the fish, and started to head back home as the sun slowly slipped back into the earth.

All in all, Goku couldn't think of a better way that he could have spent his first day back with his boys, and as they trudged back to their house, stomachs slightly fuller from the fish, and with their sopping wet clothes over their shoulders, Goku could only think of the meal ahead, and then alone time with Chichi. His gaze was hazed, and Goten and Gohan's babble turned into background noise. He was at peace with the world. Suddenly, Goku felt a tug on his pant leg.

"Daddy, were you listening to me?" Goten said, looking quizzically at his father.

"Hmm?" Goku said, snapped out of his reverie, "I must have been daydreaming, sorry Goten! What were you saying again?" as he said this, he picked up his hyper boy and put him on his shoulders.

"I was saying, daddy, that I can't wait to show you this secret cave that I found with Trunks one day—its deep and spooky, and scary, and maybe a monster lives there too!" Goten exclaimed, arms flailing wildly atop his father's shoulders.

"Oh please, Goten," Gohan said sounding slightly exasperated, "that cave isn't a secret, and it's not scary. Its just some hole in the ground."

"Nuh-uh!" Goten said, staring his brother down, "how do you know? This cave is HUGE!"

"Goten, don't waste dad's time with that, I've seen it, he'd be bored out of his mind."

"Nuh-uh!"

"Yeah it is!"

"No, it's not!"

"Goten, it SUCKS!"

"Gohan, I'm gonna get you for that!" Goten shouted as he jumped off his father's shoulders and started pummeling his brother.

"Why you little runt!" Gohan retaliated as he fought back, pushing and shoving his little brother

Goku just looked on in shock at his two sons fighting—he'd never seen anything like it, and he didn't know what to do about it. Just a few minutes ago they had all been having a grand old time, walking home from an afternoon of fun and family, and now the two were fighting each other like each wanted to kill the other. Goku took a step back and bumped into something. Something that was quaking with anger and breathing quite heavily.

"GOHAN! GOTEN! What do you think you're doing!" Chichi roared at her two sons, who immediately stopped their brawl, "How dare you fight each other over anything after he world almost ended? You should be ashamed!"

Evidently, the three had been much closer to home than they had thought, so Chichi had seen—or at least heard—everything that had transpired.

Gohan threw his brother off of him, looking slightly disgusted at Goten, who looked like someone who got caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

"He started it," Gohan huffed, still looking at his brother with a stinging look.

Goten hung his head and felt tears welling up in his eyes. He stared at his bare feet with balled up fists and his shoulders started shaking. Usually, he just faked crying to get out of punishment, but this time, he actually felt ashamed. He knew that he was completely to blame for this, and he was afraid to look up at his dad, knowing how disappointed he must be in him. How could he have acted so childishly when he had just fought to save the world? He hated it when his mother reprimanded him like this, but he knew he deserved it this time, and he knew there would be more to come as well. But before Chichi could even open her mouth again to continue the chastising, Goten felt a pair of large hands wrap around his torso, and he felt his feet lift up off the ground. Before he knew it, he was crying his eyes out into his father's muscular chest, trying to sob out something like an apology.

"D-daddy," Goten tried, his words punctuated by sniffles, "I-I didn't mean to s-s-start a f-f-fight, I-I just w-want to s-show you w-what I f-f—"

"Shhh," Goku said soothingly, patting Goten on his bare back as his son bawled louder, "it's ok, son. I know how excited you are to see me, I know. Tomorrow, you can show me that cave, ok? I can't wait to see it, but right now, I need you to apologize to your brother, and Gohan, you need to say sorry to Goten. It hurts me to see you two fighting each other so soon after what we just went through. This is a time for family, not fighting."

He put his young boy down on the ground again, and after he had managed to wipe away his tears, said a heartfelt "sorry" to his brother, who walked over and patted him on the head and returned the gesture. Chichi just looked on in shock, since when had her husband become a father in proper?

After the boys had been broken up and apologies had been said, the family returned into their little house together and the boys got dressed as Chichi continued in her preparation of a veritable feast for three very hungry saiyan men (and one boy). In the meantime, Goten was helping her with the cooking, and Gohan was off showing his father baby pictures of Goten.

"And you see this one," Gohan said, snickering, as he turned the page, "this is one is my personal favorite."

Goku shrieked with laughter has he beheld the picture of Goten. It showed the boy when he was about two years old, in a red cape with his arms proudly to his side, with a very saggy diaper, smiling toothily.

"That's hilarious!" Goku exclaimed, causing Gohan to fall over, laughing, "man, he sure was cute back then wasn't he?"

"Hey, what are you guys laughing 'bout?" Goten asked, curiously as he poked his head into the room, "it better not be about me—I hate it when people laugh at me behind my back."

"We're just looking at some old pictures of you, squirt," Gohan said, wiping tears of laughter out of his eyes, "you sure were a funny baby."

Goten just pouted as he crossed his arms over his chest, a slight blush emerging across his cheeks.

Goku, not wanting his son to feel bad, beckoned him to come over and sit next to him.

"Hey, don't feel bad, son," Goku said, patting his shoulder and grinning, "you wanna hear an _embarrassing _story about your big brother?"

Goten immediately perked up at the sound of revenge and nodded fervently.

"Sure!"

Goku leaned into his son's ear, placing his hand over his mouth so that Gohan, who was turning redder by the minute, couldn't see his lips moving. With each passing second, Goten's face lit up more and more, until he was positively rolling on the floor with laughter once Goku broke away from him.

"Hey!" Gohan said, looking flushed, "what did you tell him, dad?"

"Don't you worry about it, son," Goku said, giggling happily, "just a blast from your past"

Gohan looked stymied as he huffed out of the living room to go help his mother with dinner. Meanwhile, Goku and Goten high-fived each other in success.

That evening was a night filled with laughter and good cheer—and lots of food. Between her two sons alone, Chichi had had difficulty producing enough food to satisfy them. Now that she had her fully-grown husband back again, she had to at least triple what she usually made. The table sagged under the weight of the dishes full of food all night, but she was so happy to be reunited with her husband that she didn't even mind that she would have hundreds of plates to clean.

Stories were recounted, and all had good times as all the food quickly disappeared from the plates. It was around nine-thirty and Gohan was just in the middle of telling his father a story about his first date with Angela when Chichi noticed that Goten's attention was beginning to fade, and his eyelids were drooping. He was clearly having difficulty staying awake, but he was trying his best not to let his mother notice.

"Alright, young man," she said abruptly, startling Gohan who stopped his story, "it's way past your bedtime—up you get!"

"But mom!" Goten complained, putting on his best face, "I wanna spend more time with daddy and Gohan! I'm not tired at all!"

"No way," his mother said, holding her ground as she stood up and pointed towards the stairs to his room "start getting ready for bed, I'll be in in a minute."

Goten opened his mouth to retaliate again, but after catching a glance from his brother, closed his mouth. It _was_ getting awfully late for a kid, and he knew that this was a battle he could not win, so he sulkily got up, kicked in his chair, and said an apathetic goodnight to the table in general, though he made sure to give his father a big hug. After Chichi had finished clearing away the dishes off the table, she took off her apron, and was just about to head upstairs when Goku got up abruptly.

"Hey, Chichi," he said, sounding slightly nervous as he twiddled his thumbs, "would you mind if I put him to bed?"

"Uh, sure, I guess," Chichi replied, slightly taken aback at this fatherly gesture, "but why do you sound so nervous?"

"It's just that," Goku began, blushing slightly, "I know that this is your and Gohan's job, and I don't want to step on anyone's toes or ruin your routine."

"Aw, isn't that sweet," Chichi said, moving over to kiss her husband on his bright red cheek, "I don't mind at least, what about you, Gohan?"

She looked over at Gohan who nodded his approval at the arrangement

"But make sure that he puts his pajamas on properly, and that he brushes his teeth. Remind him to go to the bathroom before he goes to bed, and make sure he washes his hands afterwards. Also, you need to bring him some water to have next to his bed, and he needs a story read to him before he can go to sleep. Oh yeah, and bring him a glass of water to have by his bed."

"Whoa!" Goku said, trying to remember everything that she had said, "I, I think I can remember all that, but can I just tell him a story?"

"Yeah, that'll do," she said, handing him a glass of water for Goten, "he's usually asleep before you finish the story anyway, and I'd imagine that he's pretty beat after all of the recent events. Oh yeah, and make sure that he has his stuffed bunny, Mr. Bunny, he can't sleep without him."

"Think you can remember all that, dad?" Gohan said smiling, "Just think, I've had to do that almost every night for almost ten years."

"Yeah, Gohan," Goku said, patting his son on his shoulder, "and I'm sure you've done a great job. I just hope I don't mess up all your good work!"

"I'm sure you'll do fine," Chichi said, trying to get Goku to go, "now hurry up! It's getting late."

Goku left the kitchen and headed upstairs towards Goten's room. When he entered, he found Goten on the floor playing with an action figure, with all his toys strewn everywhere.

"'Cmon, little man," Goku said, trying not to step on anything as he walked over to a crestfallen Goten, "let's go get your teeth brushed and get you into pajamas. It's almost ten o'clock and you need your rest."

"But I'm not even tired!" Goten pleaded, hoping to get a different result from his father than he got from his mother, though his sentence was punctuated by an enormous yawn.

"Oh really?" Goku said, unconvinced as he plopped his boy on his feet.

"Fine," Goten replied dejectedly as he got up and started pulling off his day clothes

Goku set the water glass down on the table next to his son's bed as he tried to clear a pathway through the maze of toys. After he had put on a pair of dinosaur pajama bottoms with an old _Kame_ t-shirt, he took his son into the bathroom, and made sure he brushed his teeth, took a leak, and washed his hands before re-entering his bedroom. Goten couldn't resist proudly showing his dad how sparkly his teeth were after he brushed them. Goku beamed at him, marveling at his innocence and cheeriness.

"Daddy," Goten said, slightly embarrassedly, as Goku sat down on his bed and pulled the covers over his son, "can you tell me a story, please?"

"You bet I can," Goku said as Goten's face lit up, "howbout I tell you about my first time meeting Bulma?" Goten nodded his head in approval and Goku began his story:

"I had never actually met a human being other than my adoptive grandfath—"

"Daddy," Goten interrupted, "what's adoptive mean?"

"It means that he wasn't my real grandfather like the Ox-King is to you. Anyway, so I had never met anyone in the world, can you imagine? I couldn't even tell the difference between boys and girls! I had to pat their crotch areas to tell the difference!"

This particular bit got a cheerful giggle out of Goten from under his covers.

"So one day," Goku continued, really getting into his story now, "I had just finished catching a fish for lunch down by the pond that you and I went to earlier today. And there I was, minding my own business, when out of nowhere came a giant truck barreling down the road," Goku included the necessary sound effects of a truck at this point.

"Now, having been raised in such seclusion, I had never seen a truck before, so I thought it was an elephant. Before I knew it, the truck came screeching to a halt in front of me, very nearly hitting me, too! Out popped Bulma, who immediately started yelling at me to be more careful," Goku put on his best Bulma expression as he imitated her telling him off.

"I was in shock when I heard the "elephant" talking, and I thought that it was trying to steal my dinner! So I picked up Bulma's car and threw it as far away as I could, trying to defend my hard-earned meal. Then, Bulma emerged from the window of the car with a pistol, and she took aim and—"

Just as Goku was about to say "shot me," he looked down, and saw that Goten was already fast asleep with Mr. Bunny in his arms, making adorable sleeping noises as his little frame rose and fell with each breath. Goku smiled, looking down at his son all cozy in his bed. After pulling the covers up and tucking him in, Goku softly kissed his head and whispered "I love you," as Goten squirmed in his sleep, smiling. The proud father then tip-toed out of the room, careful not to impale his toe on a piece of plastic, and closed the door and shut off the light. As he made his way downstairs, he saw Gohan going into his room, and got a smile from him that said: "it's good to have you home again."

Goku reentered the kitchen but found it to be empty. Slightly perturbed, he looked around, and noticed that the door leading outside was slightly ajar. He smiled, knowing that Chichi was outside, lying on the grass, and looking at stars like she and her husband used to do all those many years ago. He walked outside, and sure enough, found his wife lying on her back, gazing up at the heavens. He walked next to her, and plopped himself down, not saying anything, for nothing needed to be said. He knew exactly what she was thinking—that she was truly happy for the first time in almost ten years. He scooted closer to her and put his arm around her, beckoning her to come and cuddle with him.

Neither Goku, nor his wife knew how long they had been out there together in each other's arms. Might have been an hour, might have been a lifetime or two. But that didn't matter. Not a word was said between the two of them the whole time, but somehow, each was able to know exactly what the other was thinking. When Goku saw a constellation in the sky, he didn't even have to point it out through words, yet he knew that his partner was gazing with the same wonderment at the same collection of stars. When Chichi heard the rustle of a tree nearby, she didn't have to speak for her to know that Goku was also listening with rapture to the same rustle. At this moment, it was as if the world was new, and as if Goku and Chichi were the first man and woman ever on the planet. No distractions—all that mattered was that they were together again, just the two of them, the stars, and someone else who had unexpectedly wandered out of bed.

"D-d-daddy?" came a soft sob from the doorway after what had seeme like hours, "D-daddy? Are you out there? A-are you really b-back for good? I-i-is B-Buu really g-g-gone?"

Goku turned his head, and saw Goten in the doorway to the house, with his bunny in one hand dragging at his feet, and his other hand balled up in a fist at his side. Despite the distance, Goku could also tell that he was crying, or at least that he had recently been crying, for his face looked puffy and contorted into an expression of fear and anguish.

"I'm over here, son," Goku called softly, not wanting to get up from his position, "is everything alright? It's very late, you should be in bed, right?"

"I-I-I had a b-b-bad d-dream," Goten moaned, fresh tears now streaming down his face as he recounted his nightmare, "I-I was d-dreaming that you d-didn't finish off M-M-Majin Buu, a-and that the e-earth was d-destroyed, and that w-we weren't able to bring back everyone, and I-I-I was all alone, and everyone d-d-died!"

Goten was positively bawling at this point, unable to control himself as he ran towards his parents, his bunny swinging from his hands as they flailed erratically.

"Goten, shhh, It's fine—everything is gonna be alright," Goku said softly as his son threw himself into his father's arms, "you're safe, I'm right here, and I promise that as long as I am still standing, I will protect you."

Goten buried his face in his father's shirt and cried his eyes out as he felt his father's large hands and mother's small hands rub his back soothingly. He just stayed there for a good while, salty tears staining his father's shirt as he poured emotion into Goku's chest.

"That's enough crying, now, ok?" Goku said after a while, somewhat firmly, though still softly enough to comfort his disquieted son. He understood that his son was still young, and that these past few days had been extremely traumatizing, but at the same time, he didn't want to baby his young man—he needed to be strong and buck up.

"That's right, baby," Chichi said, kissing his head, "we're all here now and we're not going anywhere. Now why don't you settle down and sit here with us and watch the stars."

Goten hushed after a couple of minutes of his father and mother's talking and soothing, and his tears started turning into sniffles, then turning into quiet breaths, which soon turned into light snores as he collapsed from exhaustion onto his father's lap, no longer able to support consciousness. All three of them just sat there for a while longer, Goku replacing one hand around his wife, and the other on his son's head. After what could have easily been a dozen eternities of bliss, Chichi got up, motioning that Goku should go and put Goten down again. He did so, and just as he was closing his son's door, found Chichi waiting for him at the doorstep to their bedroom, in only a bathrobe, smiling at him seductively. He looked at her with excitement, and he briskly walked over to their room. Still smiling, he kissed his wife, something he had been longing to do for seven long years. Goten was dead to the world, Gohan was probably too busy talking to Videl, and he had a wife waiting for him. So Goku kicked his bedroom door shut, and mounted his bed with his wife.


	2. Gohan's Second Date!

Chapter 2: Gohan's Second Date

The next morning came far too quickly in Goku's opinion, for when he opened his eyes at half past nine, he still didn't want to get up—he was too comfortable. He didn't even know what had woken him up. First of all, he still wasn't sure if everything had been a dream or not. Sure, it had all seemed real, but was Buu really gone? Had he really spent that wonderful time with his boys? And most importantly, had last night with Chichi been the real deal? Goku smiled thinking about the last part as he rolled over and sunk his face into the pillow. Maybe he'd just lie there for a little while longer. Chichi was probably already up cooking breakfast, but for the first time that he could recall, he was willing to trade food for sleep. He was just about to doze off again when he noticed a shadow falling across he floor, contrasting the bright spring sunlight.

"Mom says you should get up," the shadow said quietly with a little yawn, "she says she's got plans for today."

"Mfhmmfpha," Goku said into his pillow, sounding dejected.

"This is a first, isn't it father," the shadow said, this time with a greater yawn, "I've never known you to pass up a meal. Although, it would have been nice if mom had let us sleep for a little while longer anyway."

"Ffpha Goten?" Goku inquired, still talking to his pillow.

"Goten?" the shadow replied, "I'm actually not sure where he's off to, though I'm sure he's up by now. Maybe he went off with Trunks somewhere. Looked like you did a great job last night putting him to bed—he really loves you, you know that right? Like a dog loves his master, it's unconditional."

"Yeah, I gathered that," Goku said as he sat up in bed, throwing his pillow at Gohan, "poor kid was having nightmares last night though, he woke up at about midnight and came crying his eyes out to me and your mother. I'm not sure what to do though, I mean, I don't want to baby him—he is seven after all—but at the same time, he's _seven _and he's just been through hell and back."

"I'm sure you'll figure it out," Gohan said sounding unconcerned as he yawned hugely, "he's a tough kid—always has been, but he's never had a dad before, so I think he just wants to make up for all those years he never had with you. Don't get me wrong, I don't think he's faking all of this—I can tell when he is. I just think he just wants to take advantage of your being here."

"I suppose," Goku said, scratching his chin. He just noticed as he did so that his stubble was coming back. His facial hair never grew in Otherworld. He grinned happily as he rubbed the prickly hair on his face. "So why are you so tired anyway?" Goku inquired nonchalantly of his son, who yawned yet again.

"W-what do you mean?" Gohan said flustered, as he tried to cover his mouth, "I'm not tired at all! I went to bed early, you saw me go into my room after you put Goten to sleep, didn't you?"

"Oh please, Gohan," Goku said, not looking convinced as he flopped back down on his mattress, "Chichi and I were out looking at the stars all night, and I could see your light on all while we were out there."

"Ok, fine," Gohan conceded with a huff, trying to nip this in the bud, "I was up studying for a test."

"You're on spring break, son"

"I-I-I know that," Gohan said, blushing now as he tried to regain control of the conversation, "it's for when we get back, see, I've got this giant micro-biological practical exam and I—"

"Gohan," Goku interrupted sternly, though with a slight grin that Gohan couldn't see, "I've obviously been gone too long, since you seemed to have picked up this nasty lying habit. I don't like it one bit, you understand me? I know that you were up talking to Videl—I think it's great, why are you trying to hide it from me?"

Gohan just blushed as he looked down at his feet and played with his fingers. He didn't know why he was so nervous talking about it, to be honest.

"It's just that I-I don't really know what I'm doing yet, and I'm really nervous about it. I really like her, but I don't want anyone to know just in case it blows up in my face and I end up looking stupid."

"Gohan, I know you'll do fine," Goku said, happy that his son was telling the truth finally as he rolled out of bed, "just tell her how you really feel and everything will work out. And don't worry so much about what other people think. Imagine how everyone felt when I proposed to your mom in the middle of the Martial Arts Tournament!"

"Gohan! Goku! Goten!" came a cheery voice from the kitchen, "Come on down! It's time to eat!"

"You go ahead, son," Goku said as he pulled a shirt over his naked back, "I'll meet you down there. Tell your mother that I'm just washing up."

Gohan did as his father told him and headed downstairs, feeling slightly ashamed for lying so much to his dad. He had only been here for a day and already he was spinning lies about nothing at all. What was the big deal? So what if he liked a girl, he should be proud to tell people about it, let alone his own father. Gohan looked pensive as he entered the kitchen, finding a flustered looking Chichi at the stove, and Goten, and Trunks, who were all sweaty from playing out in the yard evidently.

"Hi Gohan!" came a unison chant from the two.

"Hey," Gohan said indifferently, still thinking hard about his conversation with his dad.

"Everything ok, sweetie?" Chichi inquired as she continued loading the table up with food, "you look a little tense."

"N-no!" Gohan said, cheering up immediately so as to not let onto his emotions, "I'm just fine, thanks!"

"There I go again," Gohan thought to himself, mentally kicking himself, "why do I keep lying all of a sudden?"

"I bet I know what it is," Trunks said in a sing-song voice, "I bet Gohan's got a _girlfriend_ and he doesn't want us to know about it."

"N-no!" Gohan said, putting his hands up in defense of himself, "that's not it at all! I just didn't sleep that well, that's all," as he said this, he pulled a giant plate of pancakes towards him, and began shoveling as many into his mouth as he could to try and end the conversation. But, his mother wouldn't let it drop.

"Yes, Trunks, Gohan is on his way to marrying his girlfriend so that he can give me grandchildren," she said, looking self-satisfied with herself. She knew that Gohan liked Videl—it was only a matter of time before he would admit it. Besides, maybe a little taunting would get him to come out of his shell.

Gohan stopped chewing, feeling his face starting to redden. He told himself just to calm down and let it go over his head—this was nothing unusual. Maybe they'd stop teasing him and talk about something else.

"OOOH," Goten said, in the same singsong voice as Trunks, making a kissing shape with his lips as he leaned towards his brother "kissy-kissy! Smooch, smooch!"

"Alright," Gohan said, furiously as he stood up, throwing his silverware on the table and startling everyone in the room, "you people are seriously insane. I'm leaving," and with that, he opened the door, and blasted off into the morning sun.

"Gohan!" Chichi wailed after her son, collapsing in the doorway looking sad, "come back! You know I was only kidding!"

She looked distressed as she ran outside, trying to find where her son had taken off to, but after failing, resumed her position on the ground and her crying.

"Just let it go, Chichi," came a calm voice from behind her, "he's confused right now, he doesn't know what he wants and he doesn't know who to listen to. He'll come back, don't worry about it."

"But I wasn't even serious!" Chichi cried, tears welling in her eyes, "He knows that I was joking!"

"Yeah, dad!" Goten piped up from the other side of the room with a concerned look, "He's been like that for a while now—he's so moody and secretive. One time, I went into his room 'cause I was bored and Trunks wasn't around, and he got soooo mad at me and he told me to get out and never come back, and that he never wanted to see me again!"

"Goten," Goku said, putting a hand on his son's head and smiling, "Of course your brother loves you, and he didn't mean any of that. It's just that, right now, he's going through a period of great change—he's changing from a boy to a man, and he needs his space.

Goten looked slightly crestfallen, "So, you mean we can't play anymore?"

"No, you can play," Goku responded, sitting down in Gohan's chair and beginning to bolt down the food, "but make sure that he asks _you _to play—don't just go bounding into his room out of nowhere. He's a teenager, and you never know what they're doin' by themselves in their rooms. You'll understand one day when you get to be big like him. Just give him some space."

"Humph," Goten said, pouting, "well, when I'm a teenager, I'm never gonna be mean to little kids and I'll always tell mom everything."

Chichi giggled at this last part.

"It's not something Gohan has much control over right now, kiddo, and it's not something you'll be able to control either," Goku said, smiling, "there are so many emotions in that head of his right now he doesn't even know which ones to listen to at any one time. Personally, from what I've seen, I think he's handled it rather well to be honest. He's a smart boy, that one."

Goten nodded, feeling slightly better about the situation, though he still felt slightly guilty about his brother's anger and his subsequent leaving. What if his dad was wrong? What if Gohan didn't love him anymore because he got in the way during his fight? Or maybe that time he barged in on him in his room he was meditating and working on a new move and Goten ruined it? Now he was the one who felt confused, and he gave a great sigh as he returned to his breakfast, poking moodily at the giant plate of pancakes staked in front of him while the other three ate quietly for a while. It seemed as though they were all thinking about Gohan's sudden change. He had always been so quiet and timid, and open too. He'd never been one to keep secrets, let alone get angry when they came out. What was happening to him?

Meanwhile, somewhere near Satan City, Gohan was flying as fast as he could away from his house. He was so angry all of a sudden and he didn't know why. His family was just annoying the piss out of him with all these comments about Videl. It was _his _business what he did with her, and they shouldn't care about it. Why were they all in his face all of a sudden? He huffed disapprovingly as he continued his flight path towards her mansion in Satan City where they'd agreed to meet up. Sure, it was about two hours earlier than they had planned, but he doubted that she would mind much. Anything, as long as he got away from his brother's teasing and his mother's asinine comments about marriage. Why it bothered him so all of a sudden when he had been able to take it with ease before, he didn't know. He only knew that he needed to get out of the house and be alone for a while.

Gohan landed outside of Videl's compound at around ten fifteen. Since the two of them had been up talking on the computer for the better part of the entire night and morning, he figured that she'd still be asleep—he definitely would have been had his mother not woken him. A short flight up to her bedroom window proved his theory, and he saw her fast asleep, sprawled out on her gigantic bed, with her half-open laptop lying on the floor next to her bed. He smiled, thinking of his day ahead with her.

Since he had rushed out of the house so quickly without eating much breakfast, Gohan decided that he'd try and find somewhere to eat while he let her sleep. Not wanting to draw any unnecessary attention to himself, and having forgotten his special watch at home, Gohan figured it would be best just to walk into downtown. It wasn't that far, and within ten or so minutes, he was at a corner deli.

"Morning," Gohan grumbled to the man behind the counter, who looked equally grumpy from behind his newspaper, "I'd like an egg sandwich please. Six eggs, and ten strips of bacon on a bagel."

The man looked up from his paper suspiciously, "_six _eggs, you said, sonny?"

Gohan gritted his teeth at the last word

"Yes, _sir, _six eggs please."

The man busied himself preparing Gohan's gohan, while Gohan went to get a bottle of orange juice out of the refrigerator. As he sat down at an empty booth, he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. After retrieving it, noticed that Videl had sent him a message:

"Hey G ;) where r u?"

He smiled and tapped out a response:

"Just grabbin a bite 2 eat. I had 2 leave my house early, the fam was being so annoying"

He sent the message and waited anxiously for the response as he got up and retrieved his meal from the counter and started digging into his enormous sandwich. He had just finished the first half when he felt his mobile vibrating on the table:

"rly? :( y didnt u come ovr?"

After taking a swig from his juice bottle, he replied:

"didnt wanna wake u, u looked so sweet sleepin :)"

He tucked away the last of his sandwich as he waited for her next reply, causing the guy behind the counter to jump a little at how quickly Gohan had eaten such a seemingly large amount of food. Still waiting for Videl's reply, Gohan went back up to the counter to pay, when he got back, he found her message waiting:

"rn't u the sweet talker ;). kk meet me at my place when ur done."

Gohan smiled, and after replacing his phone in his pocket, walked out the door of the deli and sprinted towards Videl's compound.

While Gohan was on his way to what would be his second ever date, Goku was out with Goten and Trunks exploring the cave that Goten had wanted to show his father so badly the day before. The three of them finished breakfast without much talking at all—everyone, it seemed, was concerned about Gohan and this most unusual behavior he was exhibiting. Everyone cheered up once they had gotten on their way into the vast wilderness however as all thoughts of the episode in the kitchen earlier that morning faded into nothingness as the bright warm sunshine washed their minds clean.

Goku had a vague idea of the cave that Goten was talking about—he had, after all, lived for twelve years within the same twenty miles or so, and from the way that Goten described it with such excitement, it sounded like the old cave where he hid Icarus—Gohan's pet dragon—when Chichi wouldn't let him live any nearer to the house. There certainly wasn't anything special about the cave—Gohan technically had been more correct in saying that it was downright lame, but Goku put on a very good show of enthusiasm and excitement as he walked behind his son and Trunks, who, like always, were bickering about something or other.

"No way, Trunks!" Goten said, sounding frustrated as he stamped his foot as he walked, "there's no way that you could fly around the world in under two minutes—NO WAY!"

"Goten, you have no idea what you're talking about," Trunks replied carelessly, "you're just mad because I'm way faster than you and you know it!."

"No you're not faster than I am! No chance!" Goten flailed his arms wildly as Goku giggled as he looked on. This was what he had missed out on and he was so happy to be a part of it now.

"Goten, give it up," Trunks said, smiling slightly at Goten's crazed frustration.

"No! I'm definitely faster than you, especially since I trained so hard with Goha—"

Goten cut off before he finished his older brother's name, and as he did so, his cheerful, albeit argumentative demeanor, vanished into thin air. His arms dropped comically to his sides as he put his hands in his pockets and hung his head as he continued walking forward towards the cave. He tried to hide his face from Trunks—Goten didn't want Trunks to think that he was a wussy. Trunks evidently didn't catch onto Goten's sudden change in mood, as he thought that Goten was simply conceding the argument. Not seeing anything out of order, he laughed happily and sprinted ahead, shouting, "I'm the fastest!" as loud as he could.

On the other hand, Goku could tell that his son was upset, and after such a nice morning of fun exploring, he didn't want it to be ruined. He walked over to Goten and knelt down in front of him, trying to make eye contact, but Goten just continued staring down at his shoes—apparently they were very interesting.

"Hey, cheer up big guy," Goku said with a smile as he lifted Goten's chin to see his face, "go and catch Trunks, he's beating you, you know."

"O-okay," Goten said heavily—he was clearly trying very hard not to break down into a fit of emotion in front of Trunks, he had to be strong and buck up.

After a couple seconds of Goten looking into his father's comforting face, he looked much happier. The smile returned to his face and he ran after Trunks, wailing that he was gonna beat him to the cave.

Goku stood up and watched his boy zoom away—he was so proud that Goten had been able to cheer up so quickly and man up about the situation. At the same time however, he made a mental note to talk to Gohan when he got back from wherever he was—he didn't want Goten to be scared of his brother.

"Hey!" came a chirpy voice from behind Gohan as he hovered in front of Videl's bedroom window, "I'm down here!"

Gohan turned around and saw that, sure enough, Videl was standing outside her doorway waiting for him. She was wearing a white t-shirt and a pair of shorts—she had obviously just gotten out of bed since her short black hair was still in tangles.

"Hey," Gohan said sounding slightly nervous as he landed in front of her, "it's uh, it's nice to see you again…"

"I saw you yesterday, silly," Videl said with a smile as she playfully jabbed Gohan's chest.

"Oh, yeah, that's right," Gohan said, with a nervous laugh as he felt himself blushing. Why was he so nervous all of a sudden? Just a minute ago in the deli he'd been dying to get over here to see her, and when they had been talking on the phone all night, he hadn't been nearly this nervous.

"So, it's uh, pretty nice weather today isn't it?" he sounding terrified as Videl led him into the house with her head on his shoulder as she clutched his strong arm.

"Yeah, I guess," she replied, sounding uninterested, as she and Gohan entered her vast bedroom, "I just woke up so I haven't seen much of it."

Gohan amazed by the size of her room—it was at least three times as large as his room at home. Videl saw his jaw hanging open and smiled, knowing that this was all rather new to him.

"Why don't you wait here while I get dressed?" she said as she rummaged in her drawers for clothes, "I'm gonna run through the shower, be out in a sec!"

Gohan didn't have time to object, not that he would have, before she had slammed the door to her bathroom behind her. As he did so he looked down at his feet and blushed slightly—as she was closing the door, he could have sworn that she'd winked at him as she left.

Videl re-emerged into her bedroom after about twenty-five minutes or so—she had intentionally spent longer than usual in the shower to see if Gohan would get impatient with her, but after twenty solid minutes under the water and nary a peep from Gohan, she was satisfied and got out. It wasn't that she didn't trust Gohan or anything, far from it, she was just curious. As she came back into her bedroom, she found Gohan exactly where she had left him—literally, he had not moved an inch from the spot on her bed. She smiled as she walked over to her desk and started brushing her hair.

"So where do you want to go today?" Gohan said, feeling slightly less nervous as Videl continued to attack her hair with a brush.

"Mm, I was thinking maybe we could go see a movie. Don't worry though," she said, throwing him a coy smile, "I don't like chick flicks like Angela."

"Eheh," Gohan said, feeling his cheeks turn red as he scratched his head as he recalled his first ever date.

The pair departed not long after, and as they walked along, Gohan tried not to think about how rude he had been to his family earlier that morning. It was strange, just a few hours ago he'd been furious, and now he felt horrible. Videl didn't seem to notice though, since she just continued to hang on his arm playfully, much to Gohan's discomfort. Gohan really liked Videl, so he didn't know why he felt so awkward and uncomfortable when she touched him.

Videl also picked up on Gohan's anxiety as they walked along towards the cimema. Why was he being so distant? Why wasn't he returning any of the affection that she was giving him? She didn't think too much on it though as they continued their stroll—it was probably just that because this was his first date, or at least the first one that he hadn't been tricked into going on, he was nervous and didn't want to make any mistakes. Yeah, that was probably it. So she smiled and continued walking, though as they entered the theater, she couldn't help but notice that it was starting to get cloudy out.

Gohan and Videl emerged from the movie theater at around two o'oclock, and by that time, the sky had clouded over entirely, and it looked like it was actually closer to about six or seven in the evening. Since the paltry breakfast that Gohan had bolted before meeting up with Videl hadn't been nearly enough, he proposed that they go get something to eat somewhere.

"There's a good little café just up the road," Videl said cheerily as they walked out of the movie, "they've got sandwiches and stuff, though I doubt anything we can find in the city would be enough to satisfy your appetite." She grinned at Gohan at this last remark, who looked slightly sheepish.

"Uh, yeah, I guess I do eat a lot," Gohan said laughing uncomfortably.

As they walked along towards their next destination the two of them chatted lightly about the movie that they had just seen. It had been a pretty cheesy action movie, but Gohan had enjoyed the explosions and car chases—far more than Videl did anyway.

Gohan was glad that he was with Mr. Satan's daughter, because otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to pay for his enormous lunch. He literally cleared out the entire cabinet of all the meats that they had to offer, and had hovered down every loaf of bread they had for sale. Videl just watched on in horror as he gorged himself on his food as she ate her little salad.

"How can you possibly eat that much?" Videl asked incredulously as she noticed people starting to stare, "the food you're eating must be at least twice the capacity of your stomach!

Forgetting momentarily that he was in presence of a lady, Gohan proceeded to answer, his mouth bulging with food:

"Fsyousee," he said, taking a gigantic swallow, "we saiyans have a really fast metabolism. We evolved so that we could eat a lot at once so that we could go on long missions without needing sustenance."

Videl just giggled at his innocence—he really was just adorable.

"Bye Goten!" Trunks shouted happily as he ran inside his house, "Bye Mr. Goku! Thank you for taking us out today!"

"Bye Trunks!" Goten called after him, "I'll see you tomorrow, ok?"

"Say hi to your mom for me!" Goku hollered after him, "See you soon!"

As Trunks disappeared into his huge house, Goten turned around to Goku, looking overjoyed.

"Hey, dad, today was so much fun! What did you think of the cave?"

"I had a good time too, son. That cave was so cool! I can't believe you found it!"

At this last part, Goku picked up Goten and put him on his shoulders, to his son's delight.

"Alright then, you ready to go home, Goten, it's getting late and I'll bet your mom's started dinner!"

"Yeah!" Goten said enthusiastically, "But, can we take the Nimbus instead of Instant transmission?"

"The Nimbus?" Goku inquired, "Yeah, sure why not?" NIMBUS!"

"Yay!" Goten squeaked as he saw the fluffy yellow cloud come streaking towards them.

After positioning himself securely in his father's lap, they took off at max speed, making a beeline for their house. Goten couldn't be happier as they zoomed along, and he was pointing out things left and right to his father.

"Oh look there!" Goten shouted excitedly at one point, as he motioned to his right off in the distance, "Look at the rainbow!"

"Rainbow?" Goku replied, sounding slightly concerned, "Wait a minute, that means that it's gonna rain!"

Sure enough, as though on cue, the skies opened up, and big, heavy raindrops splattered on Goku and his son's heads. Goten looked slightly confused for a second as he felt raindrops pelt his face, but then broke into cheerful laughter, enjoying the cooling water. Seeing as he didn't mind the rain, Goku just laughed right along with him, and they continued streaking across the cloudy sky, with rain soaking through their clothes.

Gohan on the other hand had no opportunity to notice the falling rain, for at the moment; he was trying to control his nerves, which once again had flared up as Videl had started trying to play footsie. Every time he felt her foot brush against his, he stiffened, and fresh sweat started leaking from his body. Meanwhile across the table, Videl was starting to get frustrated with his lack of responsiveness to her advances. She continued to smile though as she tried to get Gohan to play along with her feet, but he just sat there, stiff as a board. Finally, he tried to force some nervous conversation:

"U-Uh, so, the w-weather sure did get bad all of a sudden didn't it?" he asked, trying to think of anything to distract her from torturing him.

Videl looked out the window and shrugged, but then, thought of something as she reached her hand across their table begging to be held by Gohan's

"Yeah, it looks terrible out," she said sweetly, "it's _great _weather for cuddling though, don't you think?"

Gohan blanched as he tried to force a smile.

"C-cuddling?" he inquired, trying to make his voice sound even.

"Yeah," Videl said as she snaked her hand across the table, inching closer to Gohan's, "what do you say you fly me back to my place and we can snuggle under a blanket and watch another movie?"

"U-h, uh," Gohan stuttered as he felt himself getting hot. He also noticed that she was back to playing with his feet as her hand slithered closer to his. Why was he so nervous? He should embrace this!

But as Videl's soft hand grasped Gohan's rough one, Gohan withdrew his arm and feet. Videl just looked stunned for a second, but then turned angry as she shot up out of her chair, knocking it backwards.

"You know what, Gohan," Videl began angrily as she put her hands on her hips and people turned their heads, "I've been trying all day to be affectionate to you, and you have not once returned the gesture. It's clear to me that you just want to be friends, but why did you pretend like it was something more? Shame on you for leading me on like that! I thought you really liked me!"

Her last few words were interrupted by sobs as Videl stormed out of the café, slamming the door in Gohan's face as he ran after her.

"Videl! Wait! It's not like that, you don't understand!" he tried as he got up and hurried after her, "Come back! I can explain!"

But his attempts were to no avail, for by the time that he had gotten outside after she had slammed the door in his face, she had already blasted off into the cloudy sky and was out of sight. He just stood there for a few minutes, gazing off into the sky as it started raining harder, the big drops pounding his anguished face. As he stood there, he felt hot tears stinging at his eyes—now not only had he forsaken his family, but also the one person that he had hoped to be able to call his girlfriend. What was going on with him? He had been so excited to see her, and all day he wanted to get away from her, and now he was crying that she had left him. Hadn't he gotten what he wanted all along? He didn't know as he stood there on that late afternoon in the rain.

"Shit," he muttered to himself as he felt salty tears start to drip down his face, "I really messed up this time, but good."

He walked back into the café after about five minutes of solitude outside—it was easy to cry in the rain, nobody could see it. After throwing some bills on the table, he exited the building again sulkily and blasted off into the darkening sky, flying slowly, and thinking about what he should do next and more importantly, where he should go and who he should talk to. Either way, he badly needed help.


	3. The Cracks Begin to Show

Author's note: Just wanted to say quickly that this has been so much fun to write! I really appreciate all the feedback that I've gotten and I can't wait to write more! Enjoy.

Chapter 3: The Cracks Begin to Show

"N-no fair!" Goten spluttered as his head broke the surface of the hot bathwater, his father laughing hysterically, "I'm gonna get you!"

"Oh no you don't!" Goku replied playfully, holding Goten above the water by his arms, preventing him from splashing his father.

Goku dropped Goten back into the barrel with a splash, and as Goten re-emerged, they both broke into laughter, the cold rain hitting their heads and the hot water warming their bodies.

"You know," Goten said, putting on his thinking face, "I don't think I've ever taken a bath outside when it's raining. I like it!"

"Yeah!" Goku said, squirting his son with water, "I like it too!"

"Argh!" Goten said, covering his face as his father giggled like a little kid.

The pair had just gotten back from dropping off Trunks and it was around quarter to seven. When they arrived back home, Chichi was horrified that Goku had let Goten get soaked in the rain when they could have been home instantly using Instant Transmission. She ordered them to go warm up in a bath, afraid that her baby was going to catch pneumonia or something.

"I'm so happy you're home, daddy," Goten said with a huge smile as he waded over to his father and give him a hug, "now that you're here, I can't imagine how I ever lived without you."

"I'm happy too, son," Goku said, returning the embrace.

The two spent another ten minutes or so just relaxing in the tub, letting the hot water cleanse their bodies, occasionally one would splash the other or one would remark on the tranquility of their surroundings. They got out after Chichi had said that dinner would be ready shortly. At this, Goku positively bounded out of the tub, yanked Goten out the water by his arms, emptied the barrel, kicked out the fire underneath it, and blasted inside. Nothing got Goku moving quicker than the thought of food. Goten just laughed through all of it as his father, in the midst of his putting out the bath, threw around his body by his arms.

"Sweetie," Chichi said, sounding anxious as she looked at the clock, "it's past seven and Gohan still isn't home. I'm getting worried!"

"Relax, hun," Goku said soothingly from the table, "he'll be here soon, I promise."

"Ok," she said, sounding relieved. There was just something about that man that could make everything seem ok.

"Daddy! Daddy!" Goten called as he bounded down the stairs in his pajamas, hair still wet from the rain outside, "let's go inside, I wanna show you how good I can read now!"

"How _well _you can read, honey," Chichi corrected.

"Yeah, that's right, c'mon daddy!" He said, tugging at his father's shirt.

"Ok, Goten, let's go then!" Goku replied happily, catching a bright smile from his wife who always was in favor of her sons' doing anything related to academics.

Goten practically dragged his father into the den, talking a mile a minute about all the plots of every book that he'd ever read. He was especially proud of himself since he had just finished his very first chapter book all by himself—no help from his mom or brother! Goku sat down on the couch in the den as Goten got his book from the shelf across the room. After selecting a thin volume, he jumped onto his father's lap, earning an: "OOF! You're heavy!" from Goku.

"This is the book that I just finished all by myself!" Goten stated proudly, showing his father how many pages there were. Although it was only a seventy or so page title, Goku beamed at his son with pride.

"Chapter one," Goten began with defiance as he cleared his throat, "there once was a boy…"

From inside the kitchen Chichi couldn't help but smile to herself as she listened into her son's reading. He still struggled with some words, but she was so proud that he was making an effort at least and that he had done it all by himself. She giggled at the thought of what her husband's expression must be right then.

"And the boy had a magic kran—kna—kar—MOM!" Goten shouted from the other room as he stalled on a word, "how do you say the word 'k-n-a-p-s-a-c-k'?"

"You would pronounce it _napsack, _baby," she called back as she continued preparing dinner.

"Right, ok, so," he continued, blushing slightly at his mistake, "the boy had a magic knapsack—"

"Honey!" Goku called from the other room, interrupting Goten, "what does knapsack mean?"

Chichi started laughing out loud—of course her husband wouldn't know that.

"It's just a backpack, Goku!" She hollered back at him

"The boy had a magic knapsack that he carried with him wherever he went," Goten continued briskly.

The two finished reading a few chapters, Goten very proud of himself since he didn't make a single mistake after his early misstep—not that Goku would have been able to tell anyway. After closing the book, Goten declared that he wanted to hear a story from his father, who obliged. So Goten got comfortable in his lap as Goku prepared to tell him about his fight with Frieza on Namek.

"Ouch, daddy!" Goten squealed as he broke away from his father's face, "your beard hurts!"

"Oops! Sorry about that, Goten!" Goku said with a smile, "My beard never grew in Otherworld so I guess I'm not used to having it around!"

While his father and brother were cozy in their house reading and telling stories, Gohan was still out in the rain, with completely soaked clothing. At this point, Gohan wasn't depressed anymore—it had turned into total anger. Nothing ever went his way—never once did he catch a break. Why couldn't he have been more receptive to Videl? Why couldn't he have just gotten over his silly nerves? What's more, it was pouring. All in all, Gohan was in a foul mood, and as he raced across the sky towards home, he dreaded the inevitable chewing out that he would get from his mother, and the relentless teasing that his brother would no doubt give him. He swore at the top of his lungs, and blasted off as fast as he could.

"Man, this is good!" Goku exclaimed, overjoyed, as he stuffed his mouth to full capacity with everything that Chichi had set out in front of him, "I still can't get over how good your cooking is, after all these years!"

"Well, I'm glad it's to your taste," Chichi said, grinning at the sight of Goku's ravenous eating, "I really missed this."

"C'mon', Goten," Goku said, looking over at his son who was just poking his food moodily, "you've got to eat everything so that you get big and strong!"

"I'm not really that hungry, actually," Goten said distantly.

"Do you want me to make you something else, sweetie?" Chichi asked, sounding slightly concerned. The only time that one of her boys didn't eat was either when they were sick, or were upset about something. She feared the latter.

"No, I'm good," Goten said, heaving a big sigh, "I think I'm just gonna go to bed now."

Chichi looked at the clock, and after seeing that it was only 7:45, knew that something was up. Goten _never _wanted to go to bed. She looked at her husband concernedly.

"Did my story scare you, son?" Goku asked, hoping that it wasn't the case. He had tried to keep his epic tale of his encounter with Frieza as PG as he could—even so, Goten had seemed to enjoy it thoroughly. Besides, he had just fought for the fate of the world. It couldn't be that.

"No, it's not that," Goten said, shaking his head.

"Are you feeling sick?" Chichi asked, rushing over to her son to feel his temperature.

"No!" Goten said, trying to get his mother off of him.

"Well then what's the matter sweetheart?" Chichi asked tenderly, returning to her seat.

"It's just that—you see—I'm—it's only—I-I," Goten couldn't speak properly as he felt a lump forming in the back of his throat as he spoke, and he felt his eyes stinging.

"C'mon, honey," Chichi said encouragingly, "tell mommy and daddy what's wrong, we're here to help you."

Goten opened and closed his mouth, trying to form words as he wrung his hands in his lap.

"You're worried about your brother, aren't you, son?" Goku said, dropping his voice and speaking softly.

Goten felt his lip tremble as he nodded silently, still pulling his fingers.

"What are you worried about?" Goku asked as he put down his silverware, noticing his son getting upset, "he'll be here any minute now, you know?"

"I-I'ts not that," Goten said, suppressing a sniffle and doing his best not to cry, "I-I'm j-just afraid of what h-he'll d-do when he gets back."

"Why are you afraid, son?" Goku said as he slid across the bench and put his hand on Goten's shoulder.

"B-because," Goten said with another sniffle as a single tear rolled down his cheek, "he's g-gonna be mad at m-me for making f-fun of h-him."

"No he's not," Chichi said, getting up from her chair and walking over to Goten.

"Yeah, I'll bet he's forgotten all about it by now," Goku said kindly, rubbing his son's back soothingly.

"N-no he h-hasn't!" Goten cried, throwing his head into his father's chest, having lost his battle with his emotions, "I was so m-mean to him this m-morning, and I m-made him l-eave! I-It's all m-my f-fault!"

"Goten, I told you it's not your fault," Goku said, patting his son on his back as he cried into his shirt, "Gohan is just changing right now—he's very confused and he doesn't know what he's doing. He won't be mad at you either—he loves you more than the world."

"R-really?" Goten stuttered, sniffing.

"Yeah, really, I promise," Goku, said looking at Chichi to reassure Goten.

"That's right, sweetie," Chichi added, "You are Gohan's baby brother—he will always love you no matter what."

This reassurance calmed Goten down, who still was sitting with his head resting on his father's shoulder. His sniffles had stopped, and Chichi had cleared away the plates, and now Goku and his boy were gazing out of the window, just looking at the rain falling.

The two had been sitting there for maybe twenty minutes, and Goten was just starting to get drowsy as he felt himself losing consciousness, when the front door banged open, and in walked Gohan—dripping wet, and looking furious.

"Hey there son," Goku said, cheerily as he felt Goten hide his head in his father's chest, trying to avoid his brother's gaze, "how was your day out?"

Gohan didn't respond, and he didn't even look at his family, he just took off his shoes and ran upstairs. Goku looked at Chichi, who looked genuinely scared, and Goku could feel Goten quaking in his lap. This had to end right now. Goku got up and sat his son down on the couch as he walked towards the staircase.

"I'm gonna go see if he wants any dinner," Goku said casually to Chichi, but throwing her a meaningful look. Goku knew that Gohan didn't want any dinner, and what's more, Goku knew that he wasn't going upstairs to talk to him about that, "Why don't you go up to bed Goten, you look tired, son."

"Mmhm," Goten said, his voice trembling as he ran over to his mother and held onto her hand.

Goku waited for Chichi to go into Goten's room with him before knocking on Gohan's door, waiting for the response that he knew wouldn't come.

"Hey, Gohan," he said, feigning brightness, "you want some dinner?"

Silence. Goku knocked again.

"You've got to be hungry, you always are!"

"Leave me alone" Gohan said menacingly.

"What's going on, son? How was your day out with Videl?" Goku asked as he pushed the door open.

"I said leave me ALONE!" Gohan shouted, throwing a pillow at the door, which Goku caught.

"Gohan! Calm down!" he said strongly, "I just want to talk!"

"Father! Get out!" Gohan shot back, springing up from his bed on which he had been lying.

"I'm not leaving until we've talked this through." Goku said calmly, but with power behind his words.

"Fine! Then _I'll_ leave," Gohan said with a smirk as he opened the giant window in his room and flew out.

"Oh no you don't!" Goku shouted after him, following Gohan out the window, landing on the soggy grass as he walked a few feet behind his son, "Why are you running away from me? Huh? What are you afraid of? This isn't what you used to do, son. This isn't the son that I knew seven years ago. The Gohan I knew would never run away from his fears or problems—he would always face them head on, and here you are now, fleeing like a coward."

"What do I have to do to get you to leave me alone?" Gohan bellowed, still walking away from his dad, rain pounding his clothing. He felt his anger boiling over; pretty soon he wouldn't be able to control himself.

"Is that all you've got to say for yourself?" Goku taunted, still following his son at a close distance, "Are you just gonna run away like a scaredy-cat? I thought you were strong! I thought you had become a man! But it's clear to me now that you're no more a man than your little baby brother—at least he's got the courage to admit his fears and face them!"

Gohan snapped. He threw his right fist at his father's face with all his might—he only wanted to see Goku on the floor. Goku, finally getting what he had wanted, easily intercepted his son's punch, and held his fist firm, preventing him from drawing it back again. This just angered Gohan more, who threw his left fist now with more force behind it. Goku, again, saw this coming as he caught it a few inches away from his face. Now Goku had both of Gohan's fists held tight, and he stared directly into Gohan's black eyes—into his soul. Gohan continued to struggle for a while, teeth clenched as he tried to free his hands from his father's grasp, but he could not. The two of them just stood there, face to face, father to son, with the rain pouring down around them. Goku just stared at his son, waiting for him to crack, and after about two minutes of intense struggling, he did.

Goku felt his son's arms go slack in his as Gohan's fierce countenance broke, and the urge to fight left his body, and the fear left his face. Gohan went limp as he collapsed into his father's arms, howling with guilt, sadness, depression, and a whole plethora of other emotions that he could not name as he cried into his father's gi. He felt terrible—not only had he forsaken his family, but he had also been running from his problems. His father was right—he was a coward.

For a while, they just stood there in the pouring rain, Gohan sobbing into his father's shoulder with Goku's arms at his side, the older man looking impassive. Finally, after what could have been forever, Goku lifted his arm and patted his son on the shoulder.

"D-dad," Gohan bawled, his face drenched with tears, "I-I-I-I'm so sorry!"

"It's ok," Goku said strongly, as he felt his son shudder into his chest "let it all out here. Let everything go."

Gohan continued his letting go for another few minutes before he got a hold of himself again, then he separated himself from his father.

"T-thanks, Dad," he said, smiling slightly as he wiped away his tears, "I feel a lot better now. My head was just so clouded, and I was so confused, and I didn't know why I was acting the way I did, and I didn't know what I was even thinking, and—"

"Shh," Goku said softly with a little smile as he put his finger over his son's mouth, "Gohan, I know—It's not your fault. You're a teenager, and you have all of these feelings that you don't know how to control yet. Add in the fact that you had to save the world twice as a child, and you find that your head is filled with too many emotions to know what to do with. I blame myself partially for it—I was barely there for your childhood and you had to step into my shoes countless times before you were ready. I'm sorry for that, but that is in the past, so you need to just let it all, go."

Gohan smiled at his father's understanding—he truly was an amazing man. He had a sort of cosmic understanding of the world and its people. He knew what made people tick, and what made them tock, and if they were tock-ing when they needed to be tick-ing, he knew how to make them tick instead of tock. Goku looked unemotional on the outside at this moment, but underneath the strong veneer, Gohan could see that his heart was happy that his son had finally let go.

"I blamed myself for so long, you know, for your death. And then, I blamed myself for Goten's not having a father, and—"

"Gohan," Goku said calmly, "It's not your fault—I chose to stay dead. It was a decision that has haunted me to this very day. I thought I was doing the world a favor, but I should have been focused on the wellbeing of my family first and foremost. You should have come first in my mind—and believe me, you do now. If anything, _I'm _the one who's to blame for everything. But it's all ok now, I'm here, and I always will be. The past is the past—nothing we can do can change that now. We just have to focus on how we can make our future—your brother's future and mother's future—better now that I'm back."

At this, Gohan broke down into another fit of emotion, but this time he was smiling. Smiling because he felt ten years of depression and guilt leaving his body—being absorbed by his father's shirt in the form of tears. When he finally calmed down once more, Goku looked him straight in the eyes—black eyes on black as the rain pounded the tops of their heads.

"I think you know what you have to do now," he said seriously.

"Yeah," Gohan said, sounding strong.

"That's my boy," Goku said smiling, happy that Gohan was going to face his problems head on. He walked over and embraced his son, and there they stood for a few minutes more—just them, in the pouring rain.

The pair made their way back inside the house a few minutes later, and found Chichi sitting at the kitchen table, looking extremely anxious as she fiddled with her thumbs. She got up when she saw her husband and son walk in the door, and nervously looked at Goku, who nodded, telling her that everything was all right—that Gohan had returned to normal.

"Mother," Gohan said as he walked over to her and hugged her, "I'm so sorry for making you worry—I don't know what came over me. Please forgive me."

"O-oh," Chichi said, feeling tears of joy roll down her face, "I'm just happy to have you back again."

The two broke their hug after a minute and Gohan looked at his mother, smiling genuinely—something she had not seen him do for a very long time.

"I need to go apologize to Goten now," he said, seriously, "I know he's probably been most affected by all this. I feel terrible—the poor kid didn't deserve this."

Chichi nodded, knowing that there was no way that Goten was asleep with all the noise the other two had been making outside. So Gohan walked upstairs, his father choosing to stay behind in the kitchen, and knocked on his brother's door.

"Hey, kiddo, can I come in for a minute," he said, hopefully, not expecting a response.

"S-sure," came a soft, scared voice after a few seconds from the other side of the door.

Gohan felt a twang of guilt as he pushed open the door and entered his brother's dark room—how could he have done this to his baby brother? He found Goten in his bed—not out on the floor playing like he usually did when he was forced to go to bed early—with his back turned to the door, and under the covers. Gohan walked over to his brother's bed and sat down on the edge. He didn't say anything for a few minutes—he only sat there looking away, feeling Goten shaking under the blankets.

"G-Goten," he began with a stutter, feeling tears sting at his eyes again, "you have every right to be mad at me, but I came here to beg for your forgiveness."  
>Goten suddenly stopped shaking in his bed and became still. Gohan still looked across the room at the doorway, feeling hot tears stream down his face<p>

"I-I was so mean to you, and for no reason, I-I'm so sorry Goten," he said, putting his face in his hands as he wept into them, "I don't know what to say! I wish I didn't say what I did—I can't imagine how bad I made you feel, and—" he was cut off as he felt his brother stir in the bed, and felt his little hands on his face, wiping away Gohan's tears.

"Please don't cry, big brother," Goten said, sounding sad, "daddy said that you don't have control over what you were doing, and so it's not your fault! "

"But that doesn't excuse what I did!" he said pitifully, trying to calm down as his shoulders shuddered with guilt, "You didn't deserve any of what I did to you."

"No, no," Goten said, standing up in his bed as he wrapped his arms around Gohan's broad back and put his little head on his brother's muscular shoulder, "It's ok, you're my big brother, I love you."

"G-Goten…" Gohan said, turning around and squeezing his brother tightly, "I-I don't deserve your forgiveness, but I'll take it with gratitude."

"I don't know what that means," Goten said, sounding suffocated, "but you're choking me! Let me down?"

Gohan relaxed his grip on his brother but continued to embrace him for a few more seconds.

"I mean, thank you, and I promise I won't be like that ever again," Gohan said with a slightly pained smile, "do you want to come into my room for a while and hangout?" he asked hopefully, hoping that his brother would allow him.

"Yeah! That'd be great!" Goten exclaimed, "but don't tell mommy, m'kay? It's way past my bedtime!"

"Don't worry," Gohan said, feeling relieved that his brother had forgiven him as he got up and beckoned Goten to come with him, "I won't tell a soul."

Goten bounded off his bed, looking overjoyed that his brother was back to normal as they tiptoed into Gohan's room. It was only about ten o'clock—though, to little Goten, it might as well have been three in the morning, so there was an excited nervousness in the air as he sat with Gohan in his room on his bed, watching TV. Goten didn't particularly understand the show that they were watching—he usually only watched cartoons in the mornings, but that wasn't the point. The point was that he was spending time with his big brother again—just like they used to! Occasionally they talked, but mostly, they were silent as they sat on the bed together. Nothing really needed to be said. After a particularly long stretch of silence, Gohan was just about to point something out to his brother on the screen when he looked over, and saw the he was fast asleep, his head resting on his brother's side. Gohan smiled and looked at the clock. They had only been up for about 45 minutes, but he supposed his brother was less used to late hours than he. He clicked off the TV and gently picked up his brother, passing his mother in the hallway as she went to her room. She didn't even make a mention of the fact that Goten was up watching TV at this hour—she didn't mind, as long as her family was back together and as long as the cracks had been mended. She even smiled at her eldest as he carried his brother back to his room, giving him a look of pride and happiness. Gohan returned it, he was just happy that everything was back to the way that it should be. He was so fortunate to have a family that was so understanding.

After laying Goten back down and tucking him in, Gohan returned to the kitchen, and as he had expected, found his father waiting for him at the table, drinking tea.

"You want some?" he asked cheerily, "I made your favorite."

"Thanks," Gohan said with a grin as he helped himself.

The two sat there for a while, not talking, the only sounds being the sipping on their tea and the occasional trickle of a new mug being poured. Finally, Gohan broke the silence.

"Thanks," he said, staring at his tea mug.

"For what?" Goku asked, genuinely perturbed.

"For helping me see again," Gohan said, gripping his cup tightly as he felt his hands burn, "for helping me get back to being me again.

"I didn't do any of that," Goku said softly, taking a swig from his cup, "that was all you, son. All I did was take you to the door—you're the one who opened it. You're the one who had the courage to go and face your brother and mother and accept the consequences of your actions—to stop running away. You did it all by yourself, and I'm proud of you. It's not easy, I know, but you're doing a great job handling it"

Gohan smiled at his father, "Thanks, dad."

Goku just grinned as he refilled his cup, "So everything is back to normal with you and your brother?"

"Yeah," Gohan said quietly, still sounding guilty, "I don't deserve a brother who's so forgiving."

"It's in his nature," Goku said airily, "I guess he gets it from his old man, huh?"

"Yeah, he definitely does," Gohan said with a sly grin, "you know, when he was a baby, he reminded me so much of you. He used to bring home a different animal every single day. One day it would be a lizard, next a bird, next a mouse—mother almost fainted on a regular basis."

Goku smiled a broad grin, "yeah that sounds like me."

He put his mug down on the table and crossed his arms—now it was time to get down to business.

"I take it your date with Videl didn't go all that well, did it son? Given the sour mood you were in when you got home." He said sternly as he looked at his son, who immediately stiffened at the sound of her name.

"No," he said miserably, "it was a complete disaster."

"Talk to me about it."

Gohan obliged unquestioningly—if nothing else, his father had taught him that it did nobody any good to keep feelings locked up inside. He recounted the whole tale, of how he couldn't wait to see her, and then he couldn't wait to get away from her, and then finally, her leaving him. He finished his story and his father just looked at him—not disparagingly or anything like that, he just looked at him blankly.

"Well, it sounds to me like you know exactly what you have to do now," Goku said unconcernedly, taking his mug up again.

"What? Tell me! I have literally no idea," Gohan said desperately.

"But you already know," Goku insisted.

"I do?" Gohan asked sounding frantic and thinking hard.

"Of course," his father said, getting up from his place and taking his mug over to the sink as he walked towards the staircase, "You always have. Just look inside yourself, and listen to what your heart says—you can't go wrong. Let it be your guide."

"Wait, father! At least give me a hint!" Gohan called after his father who was already mounting the stairs.

"Shh!" Goku said, putting his finger over his lips as he gestured upstairs, "Goodnight," he whispered again as he pointed to his chest and mouthed the word "heart."

Gohan just looked after his father as he disappeared upstairs. What was he supposed to do? He had no idea how he needed to go about his problem, or what his father had meant by his cryptic words. Couldn't he have given him at least a hint of what needed to be done? He sat at the table, his head in his hands, thinking hard about what he needed to do, but after coming up with nothing after a solid fifteen minutes of thinking, he got up, defeated, and put his mug in the sink, turned off the kitchen light, and headed to bed to clear his very confused head.


	4. Amends are Made

**Author's note: **

Again, I just want to say thank you for all the feedback! I really appreciate it.

As I was writing this chapter, I realized something—because it's in peacetime, there are virtually endless possibilities for events to occur in the DBZ world that would be considered "normal," like going to the zoo, or going shopping, or maybe even a fight with a new bad guy. I've already taken care of four little vignettes, but I was thinking that maybe you guys could leave suggestions in the reviews section for other chapters. There are way too many things for me to cover on my own, and I think it would be fun to see what the community thinks of. I, of course, would credit you for your suggestion in the chapter, and will PM you if your suggestion is chosen. Examples could include anything really, but I'd like to keep the ages the same as they are (Goten is 7, Gohan is 16, etc). Anyway, if you've got an idea for what you think another chapter should be, drop me a line in the reviews and I'll take it under advisement. Just one more thing: I may choose two or more suggestions to explore in one chapter, and I might add in some of my own flavor. Just keep that in mind when you suggest. Or alternatively, if you think this is a terrible idea—leave that too and I'll just continue as it has been.

Enjoy! 

**Update Note (3/5): **

As per request I changed Gohan's age to be sixteen rather than eighteen. I never read the original Japanese comics. But in any case I had always felt that 18 was a little too old for him to be in the series, so I think that this works nicely. However, 16 kinda seems a little young also. I'm not sure, but I'm thinking about doing a birthday chapter sometime soon—someone please correct me if I'm wrong but I feel like the Cell saga and Buu saga took place around the same time of year (early spring), and just before Gohan fought Cell he had a birthday. I kinda like 17 as an age for Gohan. Thoughts? Anyway, please feel free to give feedback, and thanks for the great suggestions so far! I also made Goku able to read.

**Update Note (3/10)**

Hey guys just wanted to say that it might be awhile before I am able to update the next chapter. There is only one more week left for me in school before spring break and I've got an inconceivable amount of work to do. I have started the next chapter, but I can't promise that it will be up much before the 19th. In addition to school I have a huge event over this coming weekend that I need to go to. In any case, I apologize for the inconvenience, but after this week, I'll try to get back on the biweekly updating. P.S. thanks for the great suggestions, they're really awesome!

Peace out.

Chapter Four: Amends Are Made

Gohan awoke from a sleepless night at around ten o'clock in the morning. He was grateful that his mother hadn't woken him, nor that his brother had come bounding into his room to roust him—he'd needed the rest. Even as he thought of the two, he felt another twang of guilt as he recalled their faces when he had returned home, and the subsequent apologizing that he did to them. He turned over and buried his head in his pillow as he sighed—he'd have to be on his best behavior around his mom, and maybe he'd treat his brother to ice cream or something. It had seemed like Goten had forgiven Gohan the night before, but Gohan still felt like he owed his brother a little more.

Gohan lay in bed for a few minutes longer, trying to hear if his family was in the kitchen or maybe if Goten and dad were out on the lawn, or maybe if his mother was on her way up to wake him. After not being able to observe any of the above, and not being able to sense the ki of any of his family members, he concluded that they were all either still asleep, or otherwise resting.

Deciding that he needed to get up and get on with patching his life back together, Gohan threw off his sheets and clicked on the TV as he walked over to his dresser in a t-shirt and his famous teddy bear boxers.

"Do you have anything to say about these villains, Miss Videl?" a reporter said, pointing a microphone to a sour-faced Videl somewhere downtown, "Anything to say to your fans? Where was Saiyaman today? He usually accompanies you doesn't he?"

Gohan froze in the middle of pulling on his jeans as he felt his heart start pumping quickly.

"Saiyaman? Never even heard of the guy," Videl snorted, turning her face away from the camera as she put her hands on her hips disapprovingly. The reporter looked slightly taken aback by her abrupt response.

"Uh, ok, then, uh, well thank you, Miss Videl—the city is always in your debt for your services to our citizens. This is channel eight reporting live from downtown—"

Gohan clicked off the screen before the reporter could finish his sentence, looking rather green as he continued getting dressed. He would have to go and talk to her today, but what was he going to say? His father had been so vague last night. What did he mean by "listen to your heart"? At the moment, that seemed to make sense—at the rate his was pumping, he would have been surprised if everyone in the house couldn't hear is heart. But in all seriousness, how was he supposed to approach Videl? More importantly, how would she respond?

Gohan knocked all of these questions around his clouded head as he headed downstairs into the kitchen. Speaking of clouded, the weather outside looked miserable as Gohan got himself some orange juice from the fridge and poured a glass for himself. It was all misty and foggy, yet the sun seemed to occasionally pierce through—very unusual weather for them, it was as though the sun couldn't decide whether or not it was going to come out that day or not.

As Gohan sat at the table his thoughts returned to where his family could be. The only time his brother wasn't up at the crack of dawn was when he was sick, his mother was usually up at the same time to give him breakfast, and his dad usually got up with the sun to train. He was almost always the only one who slept past eight in the morning, and even then, someone usually rousted him. He couldn't imagine that they'd all still be asleep; maybe they'd all gone shopping or something? Gohan didn't know as he checked for their spirits nearby, and after feeling nothing at all, had to assume that they had all gone somewhere far away.

"They could have at least left me a note or something," Gohan thought to himself dully as he got up and poured some cereal and took it back to his room. He couldn't be too mad though, he kinda deserved whatever they wanted to do to him after the way he had acted.

"Don't you think we should have left something for Gohan, like a note or something?" Chichi asked Goku, sounding slightly concerned. Chichi was sitting on Goku's lap on the Nimbus cloud zooming towards Bulma's—Goten had gone on ahead to meet up with Trunks.

"He's fine, honey," Goku replied for what seemed like the hundredth time since they'd left home, "he's a big boy now—I'm sure he can figure out how to make his own breakfast."

"But maybe I should call him, just to let him know where we are," Chichi responded, anxiously, "I mean, what if something happens?"

"Chichi," Goku said, holding his wife's hands and speaking soothingly, "don't worry, he'll follow us shortly. Besides, hasn't he proven that he can handle himself?"

"I don't know…" Chichi said uneasily as her husband's hands massaged hers,

"C'mon babe," Goku said, still soothingly but with a hint of exasperation, "what are you worried about? He's sixteen, he's not your little baby anymore.?

"Ok I guess you're right," Chichi conceded, feeling a twinge of sadness at Goku's frankness. She just didn't want to believe that her baby boy was a man now.

See, the thing was that Goku wasn't telling his wife 100% of the story. He actually hadn't told Gohan last night where they were going to be—he felt that it was important for his son to figure out his problem with Videl completely on his own without any distractions from the family. If Goku and everyone had been there, he felt that Gohan would get nervous, and think about what he did to them last night rather than what was important—dealing with Videl. He didn't know how he knew exactly, but Goku somehow felt like the two of them were meant to be together. It was just the way that they complemented each other's personalities—Gohan was shy and quiet, Videl was outgoing and had a powerful personality. It was this opposition that brought them together, and in Goku's mind, it was this counteracting nature that would bind them together. Still, he had broken the number one rule of the Son household—no lying. If and when Chichi found out about this, he was sure that he'd meet her fury. Goku shivered at the thought, which his wife felt.

"Are you cold, baby?" Chichi asked, turning her head to look at her husband who looked pale after thinking about the possible consequences of his lie, "should we go down?"

"N-no!" Goku said hurriedly, "I'm just, uh, excited! Yeah, that's it! I'm excited to see Bulma and the gang!"

"Is everything ok?" Chichi asked, looking slightly suspicious as Goku broke into a wild grin and scratched his head, "Is there something you want to tell me?"

"No!" Goku said, putting his hands up, "nothing at all! Hey look! We're here!"

They descended rapidly to Bulma's giant house, and after ringing the bell, were granted entrance.

"Hey Videl! Uh, so, I was wondering, if, uh," Gohan said to himself as he flew threw the foggy air, trying to figure out what he was going to say to Videl when he saw her, "I just wanted to talk about, uh, yesterday and I, um…"

Gohan put his head in his hands as he trailed off. He had absolutely no idea what he was going to say to Videl. Should he apologize? But then he could sound like he was begging her, which Gohan knew that she wouldn't appreciate. Should he ignore it and pretend that the day before hadn't happened? No, he couldn't do that—bad idea. Gohan was stumped as he continued his flight threw the clouds, feeling his face get wet as water vapor condensed on his skin. What was he supposed to do?

His situation was looking bleaker than the surrounding sky as he approached Satan City. Where was he even gonna find Videl anyway? He could check her house, but since it was going on eleven o'clock, he doubted she'd be there. Even if she was, she'd never let him in. What's more, he couldn't sense her spirit—she was obviously concealing it so that he couldn't do precisely what he was trying to do. As he flew over the city however, he noticed a ruckus below him. It appeared as though there was a standoff going on between the police and some perps.

He transformed into his costume as he descended down to the scene—several police cars were collected on one side of the street and the captain of the squad was directing a megaphone at a restaurant on the opposite side.

"Put the weapon down!" he said into his megaphone, "we just want to talk!"

"Yeah right!" came a voice from inside the restaurant on the other side, "give us the money first, then we'll talk!"

"We have already sent for your request, now leave the building slowly, and we'll let you go! Just leave the civilians alone!"

"Oh please! Do you think we're that stupid?" the voice came with laughter.

Gohan landed next to the officer as he turned around to face him.

"Saiyaman! Thank goodness you're here!" the cop said, sounding relieved, "there are about five crooks in there holding up the restaurant, they're got automatic weapons and they're asking for a million zeni! We've tried to negotiate with them but they're not budging. What's more, they've got about twenty people held hostage in there. You've got to help us!"

"Hmm, I see," Gohan replied, as he gazed lazily off into the distance, not really paying attention to what the officer was saying. Where was Videl anyway? She should have been here by now…

"We called Videl already," the officer continued, apparently reading Gohan's mind, "she was busy helping out another section downtown so it'll take some time for her to get here."

"Uh, yeah, right, that's ok I can handle this," Gohan said, blushing underneath his sunglasses at the mention of Videl's name.

Gohan stepped out into the street as the police captain took up his megaphone again.

"Attention! We are sending in a hostage negotiator! He is unarmed!" He said, motioning for Gohan to put his hands in the air, which he did.

Gohan walked slowly across the street, his hands in the air, still not really paying attention to what he was doing. What would happen if Videl showed up? What was he going to say? Should he let her take care of the bad guys? Or should he act brave and maybe win her back?

"Hey!" came a gruff voice from inside the restaurant, "don't come any closer or I'll shoot!"

Gohan didn't hear him as he continued his saunter inside.

"I-I mean it! Not a step closer!"

"What if she starts crying again in the middle of the street?" Gohan thought to himself as he took another step into the restaurant, "Aw man, I hope she doesn't, it'll ruin her reputation as a—"

_Bang!_

A shot rang out from the middle of the building as several people screamed at the sound. The round hit Gohan squarely in the shoulder but ricocheted off of him and shattered the window behind him, throwing sharp shards of glass all over the room.

"Huh?" Gohan said, confused, looking up from his feet as he felt what he could only describe as a little breeze hitting his shoulder, "Oh yeah! You're holding up the restaurant, right?"

"W-what?" the shooter said, looking horrified, "that was a direct hit! You should be on the floor! Why you!"

He fired off a series of rounds at Gohan, who this time was prepared, and who effortlessly caught all of them and let them drop from his hand, the rounds clanging on the floor.

"I don't want to fight you," Gohan began as two men stepped out in front with automatic rifles, "just let the hostages go and we'll talk."

"Yeah, well we do!" one of the two said as he started to pull the trigger.

Gohan leapt into action, moving in front of one of the perps and bending the barrel so that it wouldn't fire. Seeing this, the other one of the two paniced, and only managed to get off about two shots into the ceiling before Gohan knocked the weapon out of the crook's hands.

"Who are you?" the first said, looking as though he was about to be sick.

Gohan smirked as he prepared to announce his identity to the crooks—easily his favorite part of being a superhero.

"Protector of truth!" he said as he started a series of obscene poses, "Light in the darkness! Enemy of evil, savior of the innocent! I am—"

"A total loser is what you are," came a pained voice from behind him.

Gohan froze in mid-pose, as he felt himself start to sweat. It was Videl. She had arrived. Meanwhile the crooks just looked confused.

"Why, hello there, Madame," Gohan said nervously, unsure whether or not to play dumb.

"Don't give me that "Madame" crap, you jerk!" Videl said angrily as she turned around and stormed down the street.

"Videl! Wait! Uh, just gimmie a second to finish this up!" Gohan said as he started to round up and tie the criminals at light speed, "I need to talk! C'mon wait!"

Videl didn't respond as she continued to march down the street, her hands in fists at her side. She was so angry with him still. How dare he show his face in _her _city after showing her up in public?

"They're all tied up in there, officer," Gohan said hurriedly to the captain as he rushed after Videl, running, "my work here is done, goodbye!"

"Uh, ok, then, thank you, I guess," the officer said, bemused as he watched Gohan run away down the street.

Gohan raced down the street after Videl, who was now running at top speed and had ducked down an alleyway. She certainly had gotten faster, but he could still catch her no problem.

"Please, Videl, Wait!" Gohan called, as he got closer to her, "Please, hear me out!"

Still she didn't respond, she only upped her pace as she emerged from the alleyway into the very same park that she had confronted Gohan in just a few days ago. Now it seemed like several lifetimes ago. She didn't stop, and she didn't look back, she just kept on running, until she ran into something hard.

"Ouch!" she exclaimed as she bounced off of this _thing _in her way and landed on her rear end, "watch where you're going buster, do you know who I am? I'm Videl Satan and I've got somewhere to be—"

She stopped talking as she looked up from the ground to see that it was Gohan whom she'd run into. She rubbed her head as she scowled at him. Though he was still wearing his blacked out sunglasses, she could tell that he was looking at her with huge puppy dog eyes. She recoiled as he extended a hand to her, offering to help her up. She slapped it away as she got up on her own and turned her back on him and started walking in the other direction, her hands crossed across her chest.

"Videl, please stop," Gohan begged starting to sound desperate, as he started to walk after her, "Listen I'm sorry about yesterday, I don't know what happened, honest, I really do like you as more than a friend—"

Videl continued walking as she flipped off Gohan. She wasn't listening. Just as Gohan was about to give up hope, he felt a switch go off in his head—not dissimilar from what happened when he went Super Saiyan 2 against Cell. At this, Gohan suddenly realized exactly what he had to do. He knew what his father had been talking about. He knew what he had to say—how to listen to his heart.

"Videl," Gohan said seriously, catching up to her and walking beside her now, "listen to me. You were the first girl my age that I had ever met before, and when I first met you, I was so afraid that you would judge me for being different than normal people, what with knowing how to fly and everything. I liked you from the minute I first saw you, but I didn't want you to think I was some freak. That was why I concealed my identity and was so shy all the time. When you found out about who I was, and that it was I who had been saving the city, I knew it was all over for me—I'd have to go back home to being homeschooled and I'd live a life in the mountains forever. But instead of turning me away, you embraced my differences, and made me feel normal even though I'm not. You wanted to learn how to be like me, you wanted to learn more about me. You wanted to become a part of my life."

Videl stopped walking, her arms crossed as Gohan stopped walking a few feet behind her.

"You stuck with me through the whole ordeal with Majin Buu, even though it put your life, and the life of your family and friends in danger, and you never once stopped believing that I was alive once everyone else had given up hope. You waited for me to come back, you fought alongside me. We've been though so much already; I've completely forgotten what my life was like without you. When you left yesterday, all I could think about was how I had screwed up something special, and how I had let you down after you had believed in me, in us, in our relationship. I was angry, and I took it out on my family—I didn't even know what I was doing anymore. But then I realized that it was because I missed you, because I needed you."

Gohan stopped for a second as he searched himself for words that could put into meaning the feeling he was feeling, deep within his being—something that was beating. It was like, well, he couldn't really describe it. Was it anxiety? No, that wasn't it, he was completely confident in his speech right now. Excitement? Closer, but still, not quite. What about fear? No, it definitely couldn't be fear—he knew fear from his encounters over the years with various villains, and this most certainly wasn't it. It almost felt like he had an ocean inside his spirit—constantly rocking back and forth, endless and vast. Sometimes it churned, sometimes it was calm, sometimes waves rose high into the air, and sometimes it was smooth as glass. Yet it was always there—always moving, always constant. He couldn't place it, but as he took another step towards the girl in front of him, and as he gazed into her black hair that shone in the sun breaking out of the foggy clouds. He knew.

"I guess," he said, as Videl turned around so that she was looking directly into his eyes through the glasses, though he was looking out past her, "what I guess I'm trying to say is that, is that, I-I love you. I can't think of any other way to put it, really. Maybe yesterday I didn't do a great job of showing it, but—"

Gohan was cut short from from his speech by an unusual sensation that he felt on his face around his mouth. It was like lightning was crackling all around his skin, and it was making his hair stand up on end, and his cheeks turn red. Videl's face was suddenly very close to his—the top of her head was completely obscuring his field of view as he gazed out into the park. It was strange really because even though he had never felt anything like it before, it was a sensation that was incredibly pleasing. It was as though time had paused and he and Videl were the only things still moving.

Suddenly he felt arms wrap around his chest as he felt warmth wash over his whole body. He felt like he was floating, until he realized that he was floating, and he and Videl had started drifting lazily up into the sky, which had cleared into an unforgettable blue, with warm sunshine bathing the two of them. Or was there just one of them? It was impossible to tell really. Gohan still didn't really understand what he was doing, and he didn't know where he was going; yet this didn't bother him. He didn't need to know and frankly, he didn't particularly want to know. All that mattered was the two of them right there, right then as they lethargically lazed listlessly along, intertwined in each other's arms.

"Hey daddy," Goten said as he munched on an apple, "where's Gohan?"

"Uh," Goku replied, with his fork halfway to his overstuffed mouth, warily eying his wife who was sitting next to them, "he'll be here any time now."

Goku and his family had arrived at Bulma's place a few hours ago, and after packing some food, had headed out into the country for a picnic. The Sons were currently sitting at a table with Vegeta and Bulma and Trunks as well.

"You said that two and a half hours ago, Goku," Chichi said sounding more than a little peeved, "I'm starting to get the feeling like you never told him where we were going to be."

"N-No!" Goku said, starting to panic a little bit. Maybe he should raise his energy to let Gohan know where they are—it should have been long enough for them to work things out.

"Goku," Chichi said sternly, trying to control her anger, "you know what the rule is on lying. Remind your father, Goten."

"We're never _ever _supposed to lie!" Goten piped up from across the table

. "B-but I'm not lying!" Goku replied meekly, trying to cover his tracks as he put his hands up in front of his face, "I told Gohan last night that we were going to hang out with Bulma and the gang, "Maybe he's uh, maybe he's still sleeping?"

"Still sleeping? It's two thirty! And if you told him, then why isn't he here yet!" Chichi roared, getting up and putting her hands on her hips. If Goku hadn't known better, he'd have said that she was about to go super saiyan, "Goku, you're not setting a good example for you boy!"

"My, my Kakarrot," Vegeta said with a self-satisfied smirk, "having a little trouble controlling your woman?"

"Kakarrot?" Goten inquired, "what's a Kakarrot? Is that a vegetable? I hate vegetables!"

"No, dummy," Trunks said exasperatedly, "It's your dad's Saiyan name."

"Oh, I see. Do I have a Saiyan name too?"

"No, you're from earth."

Meanwhile Chichi was looking fiercer by the minute as she leaned across the table to stare down her husband.

"N-no, I'm not!" Goku whimpered as he sank lower into his seat. Out of all the enemies he'd ever had to fight, his wife was by far the scariest.

"Where is my son?" Chichi demanded, staring her husband directly in the face as Goten and Trunks got up and resumed their playing, not wanting to get involved in grown-ups' business, "you'd better tell me right now!"

"He's here!" Goku shouted as he saw Gohan and Videl descend from the sky behind his wife. It was lucky Chichi had gotten so angry or else they might not have been able to find them.

"Stop lying Goku!" Chichi thundered, reaching for something to hit her husband with, "How stupid do you think I am?"

"No Chichi I swear! I'm not lying he's right behind you!" Goku said, covering his head as he braced for the impact of whatever hard object his wife might find.

"Hi mom!" Gohan said happily, wearing a humongous grin from behind his mom, who was in the process of swinging a giant stick at her husband's face.

"Gohan?" Chichi said as she comically halted her swinging of the stick, "when did you get here?"

"Just now, dad wasn't lying."

"He wasn't?"

"Nope. I just had to go handle some business in the city. Sorry I didn't tell you"

"Well then," she said, blushing at her miscalculation, "I guess I owe you an apology then, sweetheart," she said to Goku who stood up from the floor, overjoyed at seeing his son.

"Nah," he said nonchalantly, "don't worry about it."

Gohan looked at his father, still smiling, who looked back, returning a look of equal happiness. Nothing really needed to be said, but Gohan did point to his chest, and mouthed the word heart, at which Goku just beamed larger. He knew that Gohan had what it took, and as he looked at him with his arm around Videl, he knew that they'd be together forever.

"Hi Gohan!" Goten cried, running over to his brother with Trunks right behind him, "Hi Videl!"

"Hey kiddo," Gohan replied, "hey Trunks."

"Hi there!" Videl said, bending down so that she was on a level with Goten, "how's it going sport?"

"I'm good! Hey and is everything ok with you and my brother now? 'Cuz he was actin' all super grumpy when you were fighting, and he was scary and stuff."

"Yeah," she said as she stood up and pecked Gohan on the lips, who giggled, "everything's fine now."

"EW! Gross! Yuck!" Goten exclaimed, putting his hands up in front of him as he took a step back, with his tongue sticking out, "C'mon Trunks let's go, this is getting weird!"

"Jeez, Goten," Trunks said sarcastically, though he also looked mildly disgusted, "it's just a kiss, get over it."

"Yeah but it's gross!"

"You know one day you'll be married and you'll have to kiss your wife all the time."

"EW! Trunks don't say that!"

"Kissy-kissy!" Trunks said, making snogging sounds as they raced away.

"TRUNKS!" Goten roared as he tackled his friend.

Gohan blushed slightly at this but Videl just giggled at the sight of the two of them speeding off into the distance.

"You're brother is really cute!" Videl said as she walked with Gohan over to the table where Goku was still stuffing his face, "he's so innocent."

"Yeah, he sure is," Gohan said, taking a giant bite out of a roll, "he's just a kid though so it's ok."

"So glad you could join us Videl," Chichi said kindly, offering her some food, "It's such a nice day out!"

"Thanks Mrs. Chichi," Videl said, returning a smile, "Sorry I kind of invited myself."

"Fssdfno waysfs!" Goku sputtered from the other side of the table, his cheeks bulging with food.

"Dad! Please!" Gohan said, embarrassed, "Don't talk with your mouth full!"

"We're glad to have you," Goku repeated after taking an enormous swallow.

The six of them ate for a good while longer, laughing and sharing stories as the food supply slowly diminished as the afternoon wore on.

"You know," Goku said at one point, recounting yet another embarrassing story about his oldest son as he laughed with everyone, except Vegeta of course, "Gohan was the _biggest _crybaby when he was little."

Gohan felt himself go red as everyone at the table agreed, and Videl giggled amusedly, looking at the depressed Gohan.

"Hey Gohan!" came Goten's voice from a distance, "Wanna come and play energy-blast-baseball?"

"Yeah that sounds fun!" Gohan replied, getting up immediately so that the embarrassment could end. He'd sat through an entire afternoon of teasing already. But he didn't really mind. He didn't feel any of the anger or resentment that he had before, Videl was there, and it was all in good fun, so it was ok. But he was happy to get away for a while

"I'll come too!" Videl called, getting up and chasing after Gohan. She too had enjoyed the stories but also needed to get away.

All of them played for a while—Gohan and Videl versus Goten and Trunks. The rules were simple: the pitcher would charge a blast and throw it at the batter, who would try to knock it out as far as he could. Then, one of the fielders would chase after it at top speed, if he or she managed to hit it before it hit the ground, then the batter was out, if not, then the batter scored a run.

"Wow that was fun!" Trunks said happily after he and Goten managed to just barely beat Gohan and Videl after an hour or so of playing.

"Yeah sure was!" Goten replied, also beaming, "But I'm all sweaty now, I think I'll go jump in the lake."

"Great idea!" Gohan responded as all four of them ran towards a lake not too far away.

"Last one in is a rotten egg!" Goten shouted as he threw off all his clothes as he ran towards the lake.

"Jeez! Goten!" Gohan cried, horrified, as his bare naked brother halted in mid-jump "put some boxers on at least man! There's a girl here!"

Videl blushed as she tried to avert her eyes.

"Huh?" Goten asked sounding confused as he looked around, "Why should I? How am I gonna get clean if I have clothes on?"

"Because there's a girl here!"

"Why does that matter?"

"Because she's a girl and it's not proper for guys to be naked around girls!"

"Why's that?"

"Because, she's a girl!"

"So?"

"So you should put some clothes on!"

"Why?"

"Ugh, you know what, you see, she's a girl and, you know what—Goten just put some boxers on, I'll explain later!" Gohan said, half frustrated half amused as he heard Videl laughing behind him.

"Well, ok I guess," Goten said as he got back on land and pulled on some underwear. Trunks, who had been in the process of removing his clothes, just laughed at Goten

"Man, you're such a toddler dude," He said as he splashed into the water.

"Why?" Goten responded, starting to get irritated, "I never wear clothes when I swim or bathe, why should it be any different just because there's a girl here?"

"Dude, that's not my problem," Trunks said, backing away from Goten, "Ask your dad or something." Truth be told, Trunks liked to talk a big game in front of Goten, but in reality, he didn't really know why it was a big deal for men and women not to bathe together. But he couldn't let Goten know that.

The four of them splashed around for a while together—Videl had borrowed Bulma's bathing suit. She couldn't help but laugh at Gohan, since he was wearing the famous teddy bear underwear that Angela had thought was such a big deal. She didn't really think that it was that important, but it was fun to tease him about it.

By the time all of them had gotten out, the sun had sunk low into the sky. None of them had a watch, but they had to guess that it was around quarter to seven. They all lied down in the grass in a sunny portion of the mountain, Videl lying close to Gohan, and Goten and Trunks playing a word game on their other side. It was so peaceful.

After a while Goten and Trunks got bored of just sitting and doing nothing so they got up and resumed whatever game they had been playing. Gohan and Videl meanwhile walked over to a nearby tree and sat down in the shade and just watched the sun set. They could hear the distant sounds of Goku and Vegeta sparring, and Goten and Trunks running around. Eventually Gohan felt himself dozing off to sleep, Videl snuggled close to his chest.

"Goten! Gohan! Trunks! C'mon back! Time to go home!" Came Chichi's voice from not far away. Gohan opened one eye and saw Goten and Trunks rushing towards the voice. Videl was still sleeping quietly in his lap so he didn't get up.

"Gohan! Where are you we're going home!" Chichi said again, from closer this time. As she came into view, Gohan put a finger over his lips and pointed to Videl—Chichi saw them together and smiled and walked away again.

"Did you have fun today, Goten?" Goku asked, picking up his exhausted son and putting him on his shoulders, "you must be so tired! You were playing with Trunks all day long!"

"Yeah," Goten said, putting his head on his father's and yawning, "I am pretty tired."

"Ok well we'll go home then. Where's your brother?" he inquired as he, his son, and his wife mounted the flying Nimbus. Vegeta and his family had already flown off.

"He's over there," Goten said, yawning again as he vaguely gestured to his right, towards the rapidly vanishing sun. It was already seven fifteen, "he's sitting with Videl I think."

"Ah, I see," Goku said, smiling to his wife who smiled right back. Goten yawned again.

"Hey daddy?" Goten said quietly.

"Mmm?"

"Why can't boys take baths with girls?"

Goku was moderately surprised by this question.

"We'll talk about it later, son," he said airily as he felt another yawn come from his youngest.

"Mkay," Goten said without objection. He was so tired, and as the Son family flew off into the distance, he felt himself collapse into sleep onto his father's shoulder.


	5. Family Ties

Author's note:

Finally another update. I truly apologize for the length of time between the updates but this past week and a half has been insane. Truly. In any case, here is chapter 5—it's quite a bit longer than the others. Credit goes to Teddy for suggesting the camping trip and Mr. Satan's reaction. This was really fun to write and the suggestions were great!

Feedback is much appreciated so keep it coming! Keep the suggestions flowing and I'll keep writing.

Peace, love, and Dragonball

Chapter 5: Family Ties

"Gohan! Gohan! Wake up! Mom says it's time to wake up!" Goten cried as he bounded into his brother's room happily and jumped on his bed.

"MMMFFFSH!" Gohan said with a muffled cry as his little brother bounced up and down on his bed, giggling happily, "Goten! Get 'offa me!"

"Mom says you need to get up!" Goten explained happily, "also Videl wants you."

"Hmm?" Gohan said with a peaked interest as he stopped trying to throw his brother off the bed and Goten giggled at his reaction to Videl's name. He had forgotten that Videl had stayed the night on the couch, "Videl is up already? What time is it?"

"Umm," Goten said looking at the clock on Gohan's wall with puzzlement. He still was learning how to read an analog clock, "it's five-ten o'clock!" He said proudly as Gohan looked at him, bewildered.

"I think you mean ten o'five, sport," Gohan said with mild exasperation as he rolled over and looked at his clock. Sure enough, it was five past ten, "still need to work on that a little, huh."

"Ehheh," Goten said with a blush as he got off his brother's bed and headed out, "don't go back to sleep, mkay?"

Gohan chuckled as he walked over and started getting dressed. He really was a cute kid sometimes. He clicked on his TV to a random channel and opened a drawer. He was just about to pull on a pair of jeans as he heard a knock on the door.

"I'll be down in a minute, Goten!" he hollered over his shoulder with one leg in his pants, mildly annoyed at his brother's pestering.

"It's me actually," came a soft voice from the doorway, sounding slightly embarrassed on walking in on Gohan getting dressed, "I'll come back in a minute when you're dressed if you like…"

"N-no!" Gohan said, turning around so fast that he tripped on the other pant leg and fell over, "It's ok! I don't mind, really! Come on in!"

Videl giggled at watching Gohan fall over and walked over to his bed and sat down as Gohan got up looking flustered and finished putting on his jeans. He took off his nightshirt, revealing a muscular back, and put on a fresh one and walked over to his bed to sit next to Videl.

"D'you sleep ok?" Gohan asked, feeling slightly awkward. He felt bad putting her on the couch, but they didn't have any more beds and it really wouldn't have been proper for them to sleep together—not yet anyway.

"Yeah it was great," Videl said, smiling as she reached out to hold Gohan's hand, "my dad is going to be furious when I get home for spending the night at a boy's house, but so what."

"Maybe I should come with you and talk to him," Gohan said guiltily, "It was me who made you stay after all."

"You didn't make me do anything," Videl said with a smile, "I was just having too much fun to want to leave. Besides, I doubt my dad would have wanted me to fly home in my jetcopter—not at night, and he hates when I fly using energy."

"I could have flown you"

"Yeah," she said apathetically as she put her head on Gohan's shoulder and nuzzled his cheek, "but then I wouldn't have been able to stay with you last night, would I?"

"I guess you're right," Gohan said, happily recalling their night of watching movies as he giggled from Videl's tickling. He put his arm around her and put his cheek up against hers.

"Ouch!" She squealed in pain, "Don't you shave? That hurts!"

"Oh," Gohan said, sheepishly as he rubbed his hand over his face, shocked to find that it was rough and itchy, "I actually have never had to before."

"Well, you'd better do it," Videl said as Gohan pressed his lips against hers.

The two of them sat embraced in each other's arms for a few second, smiling as Gohan explored Videl's back, and as Videl felt his muscular chest.

"Gohan! Videl! Come down for break—EW!" Goten said as he waltzed into his brother's room as he and Videl locked lips.

"Goten go away! Give us some space would ya!" Gohan said irritably as he and Videl hurriedly broke apart, Videl blushing.

"I'll just go downstairs for some food," Videl said uncomfortably, getting up and walking past Goten in the doorway.

"Bye Videl!" Goten said cheerily, not realizing what he had walked in on.

"What was that for?" Gohan asked, annoyed, "I told you not to come into my room without asking! I told you I'd be down in a minute."

"Yeah, well you were taking too long, and I was bored!" Goten said, crossing his arms across his chest, "besides, you and Videl were just talking anyway, what's the problem with that?"

"You'll understand when you're older," Gohan sighed as he picked his phone off of his bedside table and walked towards the door

"What's that supposed to mean?" Goten pouted as he followed his brother out of his room, "were you and Videl working on some secret move that you don't want me to know about? I hate being kept out of things!"

"No, it's not that," Gohan said exasperatedly, "Like I said, you'll understand when you're older."

"I wanna know now!"

"You wouldn't understand."

"Would too!"

"Would not!"

"Gohan I'm not a little kid, I can understand grown up stuff too! I bet you and Videl came up with the most awesome new attack and I wanna know now!"

"I told you that wasn't it!"

The two bickered like this all the way to the kitchen, finding both Chichi and Videl standing at the stove, looking alarmed at the argument that was unfolding before their eyes.

"Gohan why can't you tell me?"

"Because you wouldn't understand!"

"Yes I would!"

"No you wouldn't!"

"Yes I wou—"

"WHOA!" Chichi said loudly, placing herself between her two boys and extending her arms out, separating them. Videl turned back to the stove, blushing since she knew what they were arguing about her and Gohan, "what are you two fighting about? And so early?"

"Goten just came barging in on me and Videl this morning without even knocking, and he won't leave me alone about it!" Gohan said, staring down his brother who wasn't backing down at all.

"Yeah, well you were taking too long and Mom wanted you to get up ages ago!" Goten retaliated, shouting down his brother, "you've already wasted half the day sleeping!"

"Have not!"

"Have too!"

"Have not!"

"Ok both of you just calm down!" Chichi said exasperatedly, "Gohan, look at the time, you already slept away the entire morning, Goten, you know better than to burst into your brother's room while he's sleeping."

"But mom!"

"No buts Goten!"

"Mom you don't understand!"

"Gohan, I understand perfectly. Now both of you just sit down and eat your breakfast. Where's your father?"

"I'm here Chichi!" came Goku's voice from outside the kitchen, "morning guys! I could hear you two arguing all the way by the river. What's going on?"

"Morning," Gohan and Goten grumbled in unison from opposite sides of the kitchen table, "we weren't arguing about anything."

"Hi Mr. Goku!" Videl piped up as she brought two heaping platefuls of eggs onto the table.

"Hi there Videl! Sleep ok?"

"Yeah it was great, thanks so much for letting me crash on the couch—I don't really like flying at night since I'm still getting used to it."

"No problem at all," Goku said, waving away Videl's gratitude as he pulled out a chair next to Goten and pulled a plate of eggs towards him, "I'd imagine that Hercule isn't pleased though,"

"Yeah," she agreed, sitting down and sighing, "he'll calm down soon."

"You know, Gohan," Goku said with a mouthful of food and gesturing to his oldest son with his fork, "you should go with Videl and talk to Hercule—might calm him down."

"Yeah I was planning on doing that actually," Gohan responded, this time using his fork to gesture to his father.

"What are you doing today, Goten?" Goku asked his youngest, taking a swig from his glass of orange juice and wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

"I dunno," Goten said moodily, poking his breakfast, "Prolly just watch TV or somethin'"

"What's Trunks up to today, sweetheart?" Chichi asked, not wanting Goten to spend all day in the house.

"Dunno," he said unresponsively.

"Well how about you go swimming in the river? It's a great day out!"

"I'll pass."

"Is everything alright?" Goku asked tentatively. He could tell something was not right with Goten, but he couldn't figure out what.

"Yeah, dad, everything's fine!" Goten shouted, sounding distressed, "I'll just go outside and play by myself, since I'm obviously not wanted here!"

With that he threw down his fork and ran outside, the entire table looking on in a mixture of shock and confusion as Goten vanished out the door, a distinct sniffle audible to the room. Goku looked at his wife, who looked equally as bewildered. Then he looked at Gohan, who also looked bewildered, but also slightly guilty.

"Something I should know?" Goku probed gently.

"I just don't understand," Gohan said, sitting back in his chair and running his hands through his messy black hair, "I think he's mad because I was going to spend the day with Videl, or something. Maybe he feels like I've been being negligent…"

Videl blushed as she continued to eat uncomfortably. She hated to think that she was creating all of these problems for Goku and his family.

"He's probably feeling like he's not getting any attention anymore," Chichi sighed, feeling as though she should have seen this coming, "I mean, before you came back to life it was all about him—he got all of Gohan's attention all of the time. Now with you back to training and with Gohan having Videl, I'm sure he feels like none of us cares about him anymore."

"Aw man," Gohan said, sounding really guilty now, "I shouldn't have been so hard on him this morning. It was totally innocent and I responded way to harshly."

"It's not your fault, son," Goku said consolingly, "you were basically his father for his entire life so I suppose it's natural to feel some sort of responsibility. But now I'm here, so you need to focus on being sixteen and make sure that you give as much attention to Videl as you can."

"Thanks, dad," Gohan said, sounding slightly relieved though looking worried still, "I think I should go check on him though…"

"Don't you worry about that," Goku said, getting up from his seat and waving away Gohan's suggestion, "I need to spend some time with him alone anyway—get to know him, you know. Besides, go with Videl and talk to Hercule—he'll take it better if you're there too."

"Ok, thanks, dad," Gohan said, smiling uneasily, "at least tell Goten that I'll make it up to him, ok?"

"Sure."

Goku headed out the door and into the bright crisp day. He wasn't particularly concerned with not being able to find Goten's ki—he'd been so upset as he was leaving the house that he was doubtlessly giving off tons of detectable energy. Sure enough, as Goku concentrated his mind on feeling Goten's spirit, Goku was able to locate it without any difficulty. So he blasted off, heading north and towards his upset son.

"Man I feel terrible," Gohan said miserably as he helped his mother and Videl clean up from breakfast, "he looked so upset."

"It's alright," Chichi sighed, commiserating with Gohan's guilt, "He is only seven after all so he doesn't understand what he barged in on."

"Yeah but that's just the thing," Gohan said, watching Videl's face turn red, "we weren't doing anything, really. I totally overreacted."

"He's got to learn someday that not everything is about him," his mother said defiantly, "for all these years since your father's been away every ounce of your attention that hasn't been spent on schoolwork was spent on him. It's about time that _you_ started enjoying _your _life rather than worrying constantly about the wellbeing of others. Now shoo! Go have fun with Videl."

Gohan just looked at his mother in utter shock, his mouth half open and a plate hanging dangerously in his hands as he bent to put it in the dishwasher. Never had his mom _ever _said anything like this.

"But mom—"

"No buts! Off you go!"

Gohan looked over at Videl, who also had a dish in her hand and a look of equal confusion on her face. Gohan looked back over at his mother who had since turned her back on him, and was vigorously washing plates by hand. Judging by her stony countenance and the force with which she was cleaning a delicate plate, Gohan inferred that this was an inarguable point—despite feeling terrible about what he felt was abandoning his brother.

"Well if you say so, I guess we could, like, go see a movie or something," Gohan said uneasily, looking over at Videl, who shrugged, "then we could go see your old man later on."

"Good," Chichi responded curtly, "now get out."

Goku landed a good distance away from where Goten was and decided that he'd walk and mask his energy as much as possible. Goku thought it unlikely that Goten would be focusing on trying to detect someone following him, but Goku thought it better to be on the safe side. It wasn't that he was trying to sneak up on him or anything, it was just that he figured that Goten would bolt if he saw his father coming, and Goku wanted to avoid a chase if possible.

It didn't take long for Goku to see traces of where Goten had been. Trees had big dents in them from where he'd obviously punched them, there were great divots in the ground from where he'd kicked the ground, and there were no animals to speak of in the surrounding area, despite it being a usually lively forest. As Goku got closer, he felt Goten's ki stop moving, and start to settle down, and as Goku emerged from a clearing, he saw his son sitting on top of a rock overlooking a lake. He approached his son and heard him sniffling slightly, his arms holding his knees up against his chest. Goku walked next to his son and sat down, not saying anything, just looking out over the water.

"Hi daddy," Goten said quietly after a little while of silence.

"Hi son," Goku said calmly, looking out over the water, "you feeling better?"

"Yeah," Goten said evenly, "I don't want to talk about it though."

"That's fine," Goku responded gently, respecting Goten's request for the moment at least, "I understand."

"Thanks," Goten said, smiling.

"You sure picked a nice spot," Goku said after a little pause, still not looking at Goten.

"For what?" Goten asked, looking at his father with bleary eyes. He had obviously been crying before Goku arrived.

"Well I thought you might like to go camping with me today—this looks like a great spot," Goku said with a smile, as he looked over at his son whose face brightened up instantly.

"Camping? I've never gone camping before," Goten said excitedly, wiping his face with a sleeve, "you mean like with tents and sleeping bags and marshmallows and stuff?"

"Yeah!" Goku responded, grinning broadly, "that is, unless you've got other plans."

Goten shook his head vigorously and tackled his father, hugging him tightly.

"Gee daddy, you're the best!" he said happily.

"Your mother sure does have strong opinions, doesn't she, Gohan?" Videl asked gently as the two flew towards Satan city, leaving behind Gohan's house in the woods.

"Yeah, she sure does," he responded distractedly, smiling uneasily. He was focusing on trying to find his father and brother's spirits.

They flew in silence for a while, Videl looking straight ahead and looking apprehensive, and Gohan looking all around, trying to pinpoint his family. After a while, he detected that Goten and Goku's energies had met and subsided, so he concluded that all was well, and he brightened up.

"Sorry you had to see all this nonsense, Videl," Gohan said, blushing slightly as he looked away from Videl, "I'm honest when I say that this has never really happened before."

"Don't worry about it," Videl said with a slight giggle as she floated over to Gohan and climbed onto his back, "to be honest I found it slightly entertaining."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I don't have any siblings and I never had a mom, so I never got to experience anything like it. Besides, you're kinda cute when you're angry," she finished with a giggle and a tug on Gohan's ear.

"Uh, yeah," Gohan responded uncomfortably, blushing furiously now, "I just feel bad about Goten—I feel like I'm abandoning him."

"I wouldn't worry about it," Videl said, unconcernedly as she fought to keep her hair out of her face, "your dad was right—it's his job to be a father now. You've fulfilled that role enough already."

The two of them made small talk for a while until they arrived in Satan City, and after being sure to touch down where nobody could see them behind a building, they exited onto the street and headed towards the cinema. It was a bright crisp afternoon and the sun was warmly shining down on Videl and Gohan, who were walking down the sidewalk hand in hand, each one giggling and blushing slightly about openly showing their relationship.

"You know," Videl said coyly as they approached the theater, "I've never had a boyfriend before."

"Yeah?" Gohan said in a falsely surprised tone, grinning about the corny joke he was about to make, "I'm shocked given how beautiful you are."

"You knucklehead!" Videl said, trying to be angry through a smile as she punched Gohan in the back, "bad joke!"

"I'm sorry, but it's true!" Gohan said defensively as he blocked her next punch, "Honest!"

Videl pouted at him, her hands on her hips. After staring him down for a few seconds with a beet red face, she cracked a smile and drew him into a kiss.

"You're such a clown," she said softly, making Gohan turn a similar color red.

"Ehhe," he responded, feeling awkward.

The two didn't even care that their smooching in the middle of the sidewalk was clogging up traffic, and making people have to dodge out of the way to get around them. It didn't really matter. At least Goten wasn't here to ruin the moment this time.

"Camping!" Chichi shouted at Goku from across the kitchen table, "you want to take him camping?"

"Y-Yeah!" Goku responded weakly, putting his hands in front of his face in case Chichi decided she wanted to start throwing things at him. There was no one in the entire world scarier than his wife, "What's the problem with that?"

"Think of all the things that could happen to my baby!" Chichi shrieked, wringing her hands, "he could get attacked by a bear when he's sleeping, or, or he could get lost—you know he can't feel spirits that well yet!"

"Chichi, calm down!" Goku said, shrinking from his wife's exploding rage, "none of that's going to happen! You saw how upset he was this morning. I thought this would be the perfect way to bond with him!"

"Humph," his wife responded, crossing her arms and pouting at her husband, "I suppose that's true…"

"Yeah," Goku said, walking around the table and putting his arm around his wife, "and besides, if he's out of the way, Gohan can spend all day with Videl and not have to worry about being interrupted by his brother!"

"Well…," she said, still not convinced.

"Pleaaaase," Goku begged.

"Ok, fine," Chichi conceded, throwing her husband off of her, "but I'm going to pack him a bag right now."

With that, she took off her apron and stomped upstairs to her youngest son's room and started throwing together an enormous bag of everything under the sun. Meanwhile, Goku sneaked up to his room and packed a small backpack with just the essentials for himself and his son. After running out to the back of the house to get the tent and sleeping bags, he went out front and found Goten chasing a butterfly through the air outside.

"Ready to go, sport?" Goku asked, slinging the pack over his shoulders and handing Goten the tent and a sleeping bag to carry.

"Where's all the stuff that we'll need? Like clothes and stuff?" Goten inquired, sounding concerned.

"Right here," his father responded warmly, gesturing to the little pack on his back.

"But that bag is tiny! What about all the water we'll need?"

"We are setting up next a lake you know, son"

"Ok, well what about the food?"

"I'm sure we can find some fish around."

"What about extra clothes?"

"You're wearing clothes, aren't you?"

"Well then what do you have in that bag then?"

"Don't worry about it," Goku said sweetly, bending down and patting Goten's head. The kid was starting to get a little worked up about being out in the wilds of nature, "I promise that I am fully prepared for everything that could come our way."

That seemed to be good enough for Goten, and after picking up the sleeping bag and tent again, and hopping up onto his father's shoulders, they headed out towards their spot—on foot, not by flying or IT.

"Hey daddy," Goten asked after a couple of minutes of walking, cupping his hand over an ear and listening behind him, "is that mommy calling after us?"

"Ehhe, what?" Goku asked, speeding up his pace slightly and making as much noise with his feet as he could, "no, I don't hear anything, son. Must be just the sounds of the forest."

"Ok!" Goten said cheerily, his father's answer apparently good enough for him.

Gohan and Videl emerged from the movies at around two thirty. Neither of them had paid much attention to what was being shown—they were far too interested in enjoying each other's company. Surprisingly, the theater was essentially empty, so they had their pick of seats right in the back.

"We should probably go back to your place," Gohan said, dread audible in his voice "can't wait to see how bad your dad blows up."

"Yeah, it's gonna suck for sure," Videl said, sounding defeated as she pulled out her phone and checked the screen, "look at this, he's called me fifty-eight times and sent me over a hundred messages."

"Wow that's an impressive number," Gohan said, shocked at the over-protectiveness of Hercule. He knew that the man was a little shielding, but Videl wasn't like a baby or anything. Besides, half the kids that Gohan knew who may have ever wanted to go out with her were afraid to—not because of what Hercule could do to them, but because of what Videl could do. Next to Gohan's family and Vegeta's family, Videl was probably one of the strongest fighters on the planet.

"You ready to face the music?" Videl asked rhetorically as she walked up to her front door, turning around to find Gohan cowering a few feet behind her, "Oh grow up, you big baby."

She opened the massive double doors using a key and pushed them wide open, revealing the entrance hall into her mansion. It was enormous. There was a main staircase smack in the middle of the room that branched off right and left to the upper floors, there were fountains spurting water at the four corners of the room. Flowers grew alongside the walls of the room, and great crystal chandeliers hung from the columns on each wall. Gohan entered the house a few feet behind Videl, and when his eyes caught sight of the incredible house before him, his mouth hit the floor, and his eyes glazed over. Never in his life had he seen such a beautiful room—except for maybe in a textbook—and to think that someone actually lived here?

"Hi Daddy! I'm home!" Videl called trying to sound cheery and carefree, her voice echoing around the room and house as she approached the stairs and started to climb them, beckoning for Gohan to join her.

Gohan apprehensively entered the house, instantly feeling as though eyes were watching him. Sure enough, as he looked around, countless maids and housekeepers were staring suspiciously at him.

"Videl, maybe I should just go outside and wait…." He asked hopefully, his voice cracking.

"Please don't chicken out on me," Videl said in a fake singsong voice, putting on puppy dog eyes and turning around to hug Gohan, "I reawlly need someone to be wif me cuz I'm scarwed."

"It's ok," Gohan said, trying to puff up his chest and seem brave at Videl's fear, "as long as I'm here, everything will be alright!"

"Aww, you're so brave and strong," Videl said in a falsely flattered way, tiptoeing up to kiss Gohan, "what would I ever do without you—"

"VIDEL!" came a boom from upstairs to the right, "Videl you get away from him right now! I told you that if you wanted to have a boyfriend, he'd have to be big and strong see, and just look at how wimpy he is! You get away right now! I won't have it you hear me!"

"Daddy!" Videl cried exasperatedly as her father raced down the staircase, "Please calm down, he's a good kid!"

"Oh no," he said, "Look how wimpy those arms are!"

"Daddy, Gohan fought Majin Buu _and_ he beat Cell! I'd say he's plenty strong enough to protect me—he's stronger than _you_ at the very least! You got beat by an eight-year old with _one _punch!"

"How dare you talk to your father like that!" Hercule shouted, making the walls tremble with his deep voice, "I am the world's strongest fighter and you know it!"

"No, you're not! You're a coward, and a liar, and a cheat!"

"How could you run off like that and not even leave me a note?" he bellowed, trying to change the subject away from his questionable status as the world's best fighter, "I had no idea where you were!"

"How could I?" Videl replied sarcastically, staring her father down and putting her hands on her hips, "I was tired of your ridiculous over-protection and I wanted to live _my _life the way that _I _want to live it. Not how _you _want me to live it. _That's _how."

The argument continued like this for some time—Hercule continuously bombarding Videl with questions and ridicules after she would answer them reasonably and make his argument invalid. Finally, after a while, it seemed like Hercule got tired of arguing and instead demanded that she go to her room, grounding her indefinitely. Not really knowing what to do since he was essentially ignored throughout the whole argument, Gohan turned around to leave so that maybe he could sneak Videl out through her window, but before he could take one step, Mr. Satan turned on him.

"And _you_," he said, turning around to face Gohan, "I want you to stay away from my daughter you hear me?"

"But sir, don't you think that you're being a little harsh?" Gohan pleaded

"I most certainly am not being too harsh," he replied, taking a step towards Gohan and pointing a finger at his chest, "I know what is best for my baby girl."

"That's just it though," Gohan said, backing away from Hercule's finger, "she's not a baby girl anymore—she's a strong young woman who definitely can take care of herself. I mean, most of the kids I know would never even think about dating her just out of fear of being beaten up."

Mr. Satan paused for a second, thinking over what Gohan had said. It looked for a moment as though he was about to concede defeat, but then he riled right back up again.

"But you see that's the problem," he said, grinning confidently, thinking as though he'd won the argument, "because she's so strong, stronger people will come after her and try to hurt her. Being strong makes her more of a target to people."

Gohan was starting to get annoyed now. The obtuseness of this man was startling. Didn't he realize that there was nobody in the city that would dare challenge Videl? Didn't he realize that she was the city's number one crime fighter? Didn't he realize that his own daughter could knock his head off with a single punch?

"Ok, you know what," Gohan said, feeling anger bubble up, "I've had enough of your nonsense, _sir. _ You need to realize that your daughter is not a child anymore—she's an independent, strong lady, and you need to start treating her as such. I hope that you realize that whether you like it or not, Videl will continue to date me as long as she wants to—she doesn't care if she has your permission. You've made her live a closeted life since she was a baby—and I can understand that you were doing it to protect her, but now that she can take care of herself, I think you need to lighten up."

Hercule's face blanched at Gohan's outburst, snot dribbling down his nose as his finger hung comically in the air. He swore he could feel the air around the two of them getting hotter. He tried to regain his composure but he was starting to realize that the boy was right.

"You don't think I look strong enough?" Gohan shouted as he prepared to go super saiyan, "well how about, NOW!"

Before he could transform however, Hercule was down at Gohan's ankles, his forehead touching the ground and his hands gripping Gohan's feet.

"P-please don't hurt me!" he whimpered into the floor as Gohan looked down confusedly, "Y-you can d-do whatever you want w-with Videl. H-How about you stay for d-diner tonight? Huh? Just p-please don't h-hurt me!"

"Huh?" Gohan asked, completely taken aback by this abrupt change in demeanor, "so it's ok if Videl and I go out?"

"Y-yes, of course it is," he cowered, still talking to the floorboards, "anything you want, just don't hurt me!"

"Alright!" Gohan said triumphantly as Mr. Satan scuttled away to the opposite wall, trying to put as much space between himself and Gohan as possible, "uh, Mr. Satan, is everything alright?"

"Y-yes, of course it is," Hercule said, smiling uncomfortably as he sneaked upstairs to go to his room, "Videl's room is the third on the left. Byebye!"

"Uh, ok, bye I guess," Gohan said, bewildered as he witnessed Hercule speed away down the hallway, "what a strange man."

"Hey, daddy, look at the fish I caught!" Goten exclaimed proudly as he popped out of the icy lake holding a giant blue fish, "isn't it great?"

"That's awesome, Goten!" Goku replied from the bank as he got the fire started. The sun was starting to set on the lake and the two were getting hungry.

Father and son had spent a nice afternoon together in the woods: swimming, jumping through the trees, racing, fishing, and anything and everything that they could do together. It was strange, but even though Goten hadn't spent that much time with his dad yet, he found it very easy to be around him and to spend time with him. He just felt comfortable around him.

"Dinner's almost ready, Goten!" Goku called out to his son, who was still splashing around in the water, chasing a fish, "Come on out and dry off!"

"Ok, daddy!" Goten responded cheerfully as he jumped out and got a towel that was hanging from a line near their tent. Two towels were two things that Goku actually had brought with them in that little bag, "I'll be right back, I'm just gonna go to the bathroom first."

"Ok, remember to wash your hands in the lake afterwards!" Goku called after his son who ran off into the woods. As the fish was finishing up on the fire, Goku went and got Goten's shirt and pants and laid them out on a log next to the fire, and went into the tent and got two plates for them to eat on. As he got the things together, he couldn't help but reflect on how much he was enjoying this time with his son—there really was no place he'd rather be at the moment. He was so cheerful and happy-go-lucky—so much like his old man when he was a kid. He always had a smile on his face; it was like nothing ever got to him—at least not for long anyway. Goku also couldn't help but feel a sense of pride in his boy: even though he'd seemed a little apprehensive at first, Goten completely got over his fear of being out in nature alone without the comforts of home very quickly. Goku cringed slightly however as he put the plates down next to the fire thinking about the beating that he'd get from his wife for leaving without telling her and not taking everything that she'd packed for them. But he felt like it was worth it—he didn't want Goten's first camping experience to be artificial. The whole point of being out in nature was leaving behind the luxuries of home and being at one with nature and enjoying the company of the people that you're with.

"Ahh!" Goten cried happily as he ran back to the fire from the woods, arms flailing wildly, "I'm _so _hungry, daddy!"

"Yeah me too!" Goku said, rubbing his belly and licking his lips, "did you wash your hands first?"

"Yep!" Goten replied, smiling toothily, showing his palms to his father, "see? All clean!"

"Good boy," Goku said proudly, "now why don't you get dressed and we'll eat!"

Goten threw on his clothes and took up a plate and allowed Goku to dish him up some of the fish.

"So this one time," Goten said at one point after his father helped him to more fish, "me and Trunks were in the city, and we did this prank right."

Goku nodded enthusiastically, happily listening to all of Goten's stories.

"And the prank was that each of us stood on one side of the street, and pretended like we were stretching a rope across the street, and as the cars came up to where the rope was, they all stopped! Because they thought that there was an actual rope there! Can you believe it! We stopped traffic for about ten minutes!"

"No way!" Goku said animatedly, "that's crazy! You boys are nuts sometimes."

"Yeah," Goten said, giggling at his father's reaction, "and when you were off fighting Majin Buu, me and Trunks, we entered the adult tournament by pretending to be the Mighty Mask."

"How'd you do that?" Goku asked, genuinely confused.

"Well," Goten said, slightly apprehensive to admit what they'd done, "we kinda knocked him out and stole his costume, and Trunks stood on my shoulders and we fought…"

"Well that's not very nice," Goku said somewhat firmly.

"Yeah, I know," Goten said, sounding guilty, "Trunks and me were just so bored after the junior division."

"Ok, but cheating is wrong," Goku said.

"Yeah, I know it is," Goten said, hanging his head, "I'm sorry, dad."

"That's alright, just don't do it again, ok?" he said, sliding over to sit next to his son and putting an arm around him.

The two of them sat like this next to the fire for a while, continuing to tell stories and bond and catch up. Goten made roasted marshmallows and ate them greedily and happily. Finally, as it was starting to get late, and Goku could see his son's fading consciousness, he decided that now would be a good time to explain Gohan's situation to him.

"Your brother loves you, you know that right?" he asked softly at one point with Goten sitting in his lap with his head on Goku's chest.

Goten nodded slowly.

"You probably felt like nobody cared about you this morning," he said, running his hands through his son's messy hair, "what with Gohan dealing with Videl, and my being out training, and mom cooking."

Goten nodded again. Goku could feel his son's breathing become stuttered, as though he was trying not to cry.

"Since I've come back, I know that things have been a little crazy around here," he said, soothingly rubbing his son's back, trying to calm his breathing, "I probably messed up your entire routine that you had gotten used to for your entire life. You were used to Gohan always being there for you—like I should have been."

Goku heard a quiet sniffle from his lap.

"I understand that you're confused and everything, but you need to understand that Gohan is your brother—he's sixteen—so he's got other things to deal with in his own life, and taking care of you isn't his primary job anymore. He's got a proper school, a girlfriend, homework, friends. He loves you more than the world I promise you that, but he can't spend all of his time with you anymore—that's my job."

Another sniffle.

"I hope that you can get used to my being here now," Goku whispered into Goten's ear, "things are a little different now, but I promise that everything will work out. You just need to give your brother a little more space, ok? Spend that time with me! We've got seven years of catching up to do, and I can't wait to do it with you."

Goten nodded and turned around and put his head into his father's chest. He wasn't crying though. He was smiling actually. Smiling that everything had been cleared up in a way that he could understand. He understood now that this man was his daddy—he was the one that was going to be there to take care of him, to take him camping, to teach him things. He snuggled closer to his father, who put his hand on Goten's head and softly patted it.

"Thank you, daddy," Goten said as he closed his eyes and felt his breathing get softer, "I love you."

Goku just smiled and stroked his son's hair as he felt him fall asleep in his lap. It was quite late—almost midnight actually. He was surprised that the kid had lasted this long. He sat there for a good half hour, enjoying the starlight bouncing of the smooth glassy water and the warm body on his lap slowly moving up and down with each soft breath. After a while, he gently got up and put Goten over his shoulder and carried him to the tent, where he put him down in his sleeping bag, and took off his shoes. Before he left the tent however, he reached outside for his bag and rummaged around for a second before producing Mr. Bunny, and putting the toy in Goten's limp arms. Feeling the fuzzy animal touch his face, Goten smiled and grasped it and held it close to his chest. Goku smiled and bent down and kissed his forehead and whispered: "I love you," before exiting, kicking out the embers that remained of the fire, and finally climbing into his own that he'd laid out under the stars.


	6. The Dreaded Doctor's

**Author's Notes:**

Hi everyone,

First of all, sorry for the quick follow up update—I published the last chapter as I was running out of the house so I didn't have time to write a few notes.

Part of this story was inspired by a sweet suggestion from Teddy.

Also, just wanted to say thanks for all of the reviews and great feedback—this has been such an amazing experience for me writing this and I'm so glad that it's gotten such a great response too!

Peace, Love, and Dragonball.

**Update Note:**

Hey everyone!

I'm still alive, don't worry, and I haven't given up on this story or anything. I've just been really busy getting back to school and working on some other stuff. The next chapter is in the works and should be up by the end of the week if not sooner.

Peace, love, and Dragonball.

Chapter 6: The Dreaded Doctor's

The rest of the week slipped by with relative eventfulness—Gohan and Videl continued the early stages of their relationship, Mr. Satan was still afraid of Gohan, Goku was still always hungry, and Goten and Trunks were still pulling pranks. Now that peace had been re-established within the Son household, it seemed as though the days flew by in a blur, until the gang found themselves at Friday—the last weekend before Gohan and Videl would have to return to school for their last little bit until exams. It seemed like just yesterday that Gohan and Videl had been competing in the tournament on the first day of spring break, but here they were about to go back and start their preparations for finals.

Friday dawned dully on the Son household—the clouds were out and the whole area was bathed in a greyish tinge. This of course being the one-day that everyone had to get up early when it was so perfect for snoozing. Goten and Goku both had to go to the doctors: they both had physicals on the same day because their birthdays were so close together. Gohan agreed to tag along too—he anticipated his father's theatrics at the doctor's hadn't changed.

"C'mon kiddo, get up now," Gohan called into his brother's dark room, yawning at the same time, "let's go, mom says you gotta get up."

"Unnhhhhh," came a weak voice from the other side of the room, the sound muffled by the fabric of a pillow.

"Let's _go, _c'mon sleepy head," Gohan said, smiling to himself, "If you're not up when I get back I'll drag you out of bed.

Gohan turned around to head downstairs where his mother and father were both waiting. As he walked downstairs he glanced at his watch and recoiled at the time—it was 6:45. Their appointment was for eight o'clock, but his mother had insisted that they leave early. She didn't just want to appear out of thin air through Instant Transmission in the middle of an examination room. She wanted Goku to drop them off a good distance away somewhere secluded so that they could walk. What's more, she knew that her boys liked their shuteye, so she compensated a little for sluggish getting up.

"M-m-morning!" Gohan said through an enormous yawn, scratching his head as he walked over to the table where his father was seated, "Hey, dad, you look terrible. Sleep ok?"

"Sh-sh-sh-shots," Goku stammered, quivering in his chair as he tried to hold his mug of coffee steady through shaking hands, "I h-h-h-hate, n-n-n-needles."

"Oh for the love of—Dad, you're such a baby!" Gohan said exasperatedly, slapping his knee with his hand as his mother walked over with a cup of steaming coffee, looking disapprovingly at her husband, "Your seven year-old son isn't even afraid of shots, and here you are—savior of the universe, shaking in your boots about getting a lousy needle?"

"A-a-ahhhh," Goku responded, turning pale at the very mention of the word.

"Oh grow up," Chichi said sharply, rapping Goku on the head with a spoon for her coffee, "speaking of babies, where's your brother, Gohan?"

"I'm right here," Goten said crankily, rubbing his eye blearily as he walked into the kitchen, "and I'm not a baby! Just wait, when we go to the doctor's, you'll see how big I am on the thingy—you know the thingy that you measure how big you are?"

"The scale, sweetie," Chichi said with a smile, getting up and walking to the fridge, "what do you want, baby? Orange juice, milk?"

"Milk, please," Goten grumbled as he sat down, blushing at being called a baby, "Ouch!"

"What's the matter?" Chichi asked from across the room, "sit on something?"

"No," Goten said, rubbing his backside, "my butt really hurts!"

"Your butt?" Gohan asked, sounding suspicious.

"Yeah it really hurts! I must have bashed it sparring with you yesterday, Gohan."

"I'm sure you'll be fine," Gohan said uninterestedly as he took a sip form his coffee, "hey, your shirt's on inside out by the way."

"Thanks," Goten said grumpily, taking off his white t-shirt and putting it on properly, "hey, daddy is everything ok? You look sick, good thing we're going to the doctor's!"

"Daddy's not sick, honey," Chichi said, setting down a glass of milk in front of her son and sitting down next to him, "he'll be fine."

"Yeah d-don't worry about m-me," Goku said, trying to fake a smile, but failing, and instead looking as though he was sucking on a lemon.

"You're shaking!" Goten remarked as his mother attacked his unruly hair with a brush, trying to pull it into a presentable shape, "should I go get you a sweater?"

"Goten, he's fine," Gohan said, suppressing a laugh, he just doesn't like the doctor's.

"Huh?" Goten asked, perturbed, as his mother now tried to tuck in his shirt "I love the doctor's! I love sitting on the big chair, and the doctor always lets me pump up that thingy—what's it called again, Gohan?"

"The blood-pressure cuff."

"Yeah! That," Goten said excitedly as his father winced.

The family spent a few more minutes at the table, finishing their respective beverages and enjoying light conversation—all but Goku of course. Chichi insisted that all her boys wear coats—despite it being the middle of May.

"Alright! Up you get, let's go!" She said at seven o'clock, "Goku, sweetie, are you ready to take us?"

"Y-yeah, sure," he said, tripping over his own feet as he got up, "just hold onto m-me somewhere."

"Gosh, daddy," Goten said, alarmed, as he grasped his father's pant leg, "you're shaking like a leaf!"

"O-okay, everybody r-ready?" Goku trembled, putting two fingers to his forehead and preparing to take off, "1, 2, 3!"

Everyone disappeared from the kitchen, vanishing into thin air and being hurtled through the air as light particles. It was a strange feeling—Goten had never experienced it before. It was kind of like a vacuum was sucking at his entire body simultaneously. It wasn't uncomfortable per se it was just _unusual_.

"Here we are!" Goku said moments later, looking around. It was strange, this didn't look like where he had been intending to go. He couldn't see any buildings. Then he looked down, and realized that his aim had been off and he'd put them about twenty feet in the air above a park, "Uh, I guess I missed!"

"You're damn right you missed!" Chichi shrieked, flailing her arms about in her eldest son's arms, "what were you thinking?"

"Ehhe," Goku blushed, scratching his head as the family descended into the empty park, "that's never happened to me before, sorry honey!"

Chichi grumbled and moaned all the way down the street to the doctor's office, mumbling threats of taking away Goku's dinner or making him do the dishes. Goku wasn't really in a fit state to pay attention however; he was too busy trying to walk without falling over his own feet. Goten and Gohan were having a passionate discussion about how much Goten _actually _grew since last year.

"I think I grew a lot—maybe ten feet!" he said excitedly, bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet as his brother looked on.

"Ten feet!" Gohan said, pretending to be shocked, "you gotta be kiddin' me sport, no way you grew that much!"

"Ah-huh," Goten said, jumping up and landing, "ouch!"

"What?" Gohan asked as his mother turned around, "mom, don't look at me, I didn't touch him!"

"No, it's not you!" Goten moaned, putting his hands over his rear end, "it hurts!"

"Good thing we're going to the doctor's now," Chichi said, although she had a vague idea of what the problem was, "you can ask Dr. West when we get there."

They arrived at the doctor's at quarter past seven, and they were the first ones in the door. When the nurse asked them why they had arrived so early, Chichi just shrugged and sat down and started reading a cheap magazine from the rack in the waiting room. Meanwhile Goku sat in a corner, shivering with apprehension, Goten played on the floor with some toys that he'd brought, and Gohan worked on some reading he had to do for school.

"Hey, sweetheart?" Goku said hopefully after about twenty minutes of tense waiting, "you know there's that movie that you wanted to see playing just down the road in ten minutes, we could still see it if we left now…"

"Forget it, Goku," Chichi snapped, not even looking at her husband as she turned the page of her magazine with vigor, "you're not getting out of this one."

"Yeah, dad, c'mon," Goten said chirpily, jumping onto his father's quaking lap and hugging him, "it's gonna be fine, don't worry, daddy!"

They waited for another forty-five minutes or so before they were called into the back of the office—with Goten leading the way proudly as he talked to the nurse about doctor stuff, and with Goku bringing up the rear as he cowered behind his oldest son. Of course, Goku and Goten had different doctors, so they split up and went to two different rooms. Chichi went with Goten to his, and Gohan practically dragged his father to his. Unbeknownst to her husband, Chichi had explicitly requested that Goku's examination be done after Goten's, so that all of them could be there for Goku to provide "moral support," as she called it. Though actually, she was just concerned that a second super saiyan's strength might be needed to hold her flailing husband back.

The doctor's had always been and interesting affair for the Sons—besides the fact that Chichi had a grown man husband who was afraid of going there, she had never told the doctors that her family was an alien race of super human warriors. It probably would not be a good idea to do so. For instance, when Goten was born, with a tail as all saiyan babies are, the entire building was in shock and thought that he was a mutant human—Chichi had to insist that he was fine so that they wouldn't put in him in intensive care and cause a scene. Another time when Gohan had been sick, he sneezed so hard in the examination room that he blew a hole right through the wall, startling the eighty year old woman next door who was in rehab from hip surgery. She had always used the excuse that her family was "unusual and unique," but that always got her funny looks from the men and women who had spent eight years or more of their lives studying medicine. She didn't really mind though, as long as there weren't any long-term investigations and as long as the doctors didn't call the press or anything, it was fine. She just wanted her family to be healthy.

"Hi!" a nurse said cheerily as she walked into the room where Goten and Chichi were waiting, Goten's medical records in hand.

"Hi!" Goten said, beaming and waving, "where's Dr. West?"

"He'll be in in a few minutes to do your physical," she explained, washing her hands in the sink, "I'm just going to take your height, weight, and a few other things. Now, please take off your shirt, shoes, and shorts and stand next to that scale on the door there."

Goten did as he was told and stripped down to just his teddy-bear printed-underwear, shivering in the cold room. The nurse had to do a slight double take when she saw Goten take off his shirt—she had never seen a seven year old with a chest and arms like that! Goten walked over to the scale and went on tiptoes, trying to make himself bigger, but he was scolded by his mother who told him to stand flat.

"Wow that's some hair you've got, huh?" the nurse asked rhetorically, laughing slightly as she tried to figure out where the hair stopped and where the head began so that she could get an accurate measurement, "you are, 41 inches!"

"Is that good?" Goten asked, looking at her apprehensively as she went over to record the data in her chart, "am I bigger than last time?"

"Yes, you are!" the nurse said, smiling at Chichi who also was smiling, "you grew two inches, wow! You're a giant!"

Goten smiled proudly and puffed out his chest, "See mommy, I'm not a baby, I'm big!"

"You sure are," Chichi responded, smiling happily.

"Ok, now stand on the scale over here please," the nurse said, gesturing towards a scale in the corner.

Again, Goten obliged and stood on the metal plate as the nurse came over and started balancing the scale. Her face got more surprised by the second as she continued to drop weights on and the scale wouldn't move. Finally, after she put a hundred pounds worth of weight on, it equalized.

"O-ok," she said shakily, walking back over to her chart and looking at Chichi concernedly, who was just smiling at her son, who now was also looking concerned, "you gained fifty pounds since last year, my goodness!"

"Is that good?" Goten asked again, looking more anxious still.

"Uh," the nurse said, feeling awkward as she looked over at Chichi, "Y-yes, it's very good! You must eat all your vegetables!"

"Ew, no way!" Goten said, sticking out his tongue in disgust and putting his hands up in front of his face.

"Well then what do you feed him, ma'am?" the nurse asked Chichi nervously.

"Nothing out of the ordinary!" Chichi said brightly as Goten came over and sat on her lap.

The nurse just stared at Chichi, looking shocked. This kid was over a hundred pounds at age seven! What's more, it wasn't fat or anything! It was all solid muscle! At age seven!

"Well, I've done all I need to," the nurse said after asking Chichi a few more questions about Goten at home, "Dr. West will be in shortly. Just have a seat on the chair. You can put your clothes back on if you like."

The nurse left the room and Goten put his shirt and pants back on and jumped up onto the table.

"OUCH!" Goten howled, jumping off the table again as tears stung at his eyes, "That really hurt!"

"Come here, baby," Chichi said soothingly, getting up and walking over to her son, who was rubbing his behind with both hands as tears ran down his face.

"It hurts right there!" Goten said as his mother felt around his lower back, feeling a pronounced bump right by his tailbone. She knew exactly what this meant, it was only a question now of when it would pop out.

"It's just a bump, sweetie," she said, pulling Goten's shirt down over his back as she went back over to her chair, "we can put some ice on it when we get home."

Goten went back and sat down, very gingerly this time, on the table as the waited for the doctor to enter. After about five more minutes, he did so, and started Goten's examination.

"Ok, take off your shirt for me, would ya?" Dr. West asked kindly, walking over to Goten and putting the stethoscope on his back, "take a big breath in.

Goten did so.

"And out."

Goten did so.

"And in."

Goten breathed in,

"And out."

As Goten breathed out, there was a slight audible "pop" as he felt the pain in his rear end go away and a long fuzzy tail emerged from the waistband of his pants.

"WAAH!" Goten shrieked in surprise, jumping off of the table and trying to look at the thing that had emerged from his pants, "AHH! Mommy what's this!"

"Ugh I was afraid of this," Chichi said, looking at the doctor, who was laughing, as she got up and walked over to Goten, who was currently running around in circles like a dog trying to get a good look at his new tail, "don't worry sweetheart, it's just your tail."

"What do you mean, _just _my tail!" Goten wailed, sounding scared and confused, "why do I have a tail!"

"You were born with it, sweetheart," Chichi said soothingly to Goten as she hugged him, trying to calm him down, "your brother and daddy both had tails, but theirs both got removed permanently."

"Oh," Goten said, calming down significantly now that he knew that he wasn't a freak. By this time also, he had gained feeling in his tail and could control it as though he had a third arm or leg, "wow this is cool! Look at me I've got a tail! I've got a tail!"

Goten's physical resumed after Goten had settled down a little more, and everything went off without a hitch. Chichi had insisted that Goten tuck his tail into his pants so as to not alarm people as they walked to Goku's physical.

"What's taking them so long? They must be prepping a giant needle! Where are they?" Goku said frantically, looking all around the tiny examination room as Gohan sat in the corner reading his book.

"Dad will you calm down!" Gohan said, sounding frustrated, "you're a grown man, relax!"

"They're gonna stick me full of holes!" Goku moaned, sitting down on the examination table and putting his head in his hands.

They had been sitting in the room for about twenty minutes when the door finally opened, causing Goku to jump off the table and about a foot into the air. But it was just Goten and Chichi, back from Goten's physical.

"Hi, daddy!" Goten said, walking over and sitting on a chair in the other corner, "I grew two inches and got 50 more pounds! And I've got a tail now!"

"Wow!" Goku said, genuinely surprised by how much muscle he'd put on over the last year, "that's impressive, son. And since when do you have a tail?"

"It just grew back, actually!" Goten said as he showed it to his father, who grasped it gently, "Ouch!"

"Oops! Sorry, Goten!" Goku said apologetically as Goten cringed with pain, "I forgot how much that hurts."

"It's ok," Goten said as he rubbed his tail, "and they had to give me a shot too, see?"

At that, Goten rolled up his shirtsleeve and showed his father a sesame street Band-Aid on his right shoulder where he'd been stuck.

"Yes he was very brave, Goku," Chichi said proudly, patting her son on his mop top head.

"Yeah I didn't even cry or anything!" Goten said as his father cringed at the sight of his son's Band-Aid.

"That's great, sport!" Gohan said approvingly as the door opened again, revealing a middle-aged man in a white coat, "enjoy having your tail back."

"Hello Mr. Son," the man said, walking over to meet Goku, who had retreated to the furthest location possible in the room, "I am Dr. Hughes, good to meet you."

The doctor put his chart down and sat down on a rolling chair and proceeded to take down Goku's information. He had found it strange that Goku lacked any medical records for the past seven years, but Chichi cleverly told him that Goku had been away on an expedition in the Antarctic for the entire time. Though this also seemed strange, and since there had been no certificate of death published when Goku had died at the hands of Cell, Dr. Hughes accepted this and continued with the examination. He asked various questions of Goku, many of which Goku was physically unable to answer due to complete and utter fear apparently paralyzing his vocal chords. Chichi answered most of the questions, doing her best not to look embarrassed on account of her husband. Gohan just kept his face hidden in his book, though he was blushing throughout the entire thing, and Goten played with his newly grown back tail, which made the doctor do a double take at one point.

"You look rather pale, sir," Dr. Hughes said after taking Goku's blood pressure and noticing that Goku was indeed white as a sheet, "shall I turn up the temperature in here?"

"Don't bother," Chichi cut in curtly, "you'll see why he's like this before too long now."

"Right, well, ok," the doctor said, a little bemused, "well it looks like you're due for a tetanus booster—it says here that the last time you got one was thirteen years ago. Is that correct?"

"Yes," Chichi said, bracing herself.

"Ok then," he said, getting up and heading outside to get the supplies, "I'll be right back then with the needle."

"DID HE SAY NEEDLE?" Goku piped up, his face going from white to green faster than a chameleon, "Get me outa here!"

"Oh no you don't," Gohan said, getting up and holding his father's arm so that he couldn't escape, "Come on, dad, sit down! It's just one shot!"

"Please!" Goku begged, straining against his son's grasp as Goten looked on in mild shock, "Anything but that! I'd rather be sick than get a shot!"

"Don't be stupid, dad!" Gohan said, struggling to maintain control over his father's resistance, "Goten, gimmie a hand here!"

Goten got up and held his father's other arm as he flailed wildly. At this point, Chichi got up and walked in front of him.

"Goku!" she said sternly, putting her arms on her hips, "if you don't calm down you don't get any dinner tonight!"

This threat registered somewhere in Goku's mind, and he actually stopped flailing for a couple of seconds and just stared into his wife's eyes. Chichi had just thought that she'd won the battle when the doctor came into the room behind her holding a needle, and causing Goku to erupt into another fit of flailing and struggling, much to the doctor's complete and utter shock. He'd seen the needle in his hands and just lost it.

"Hey doc!" Gohan managed, "hurry up and give it to him will ya?"

"Yeah, please do!" Goten struggled, "I'm not sure how much longer we can hold him back for!"

"WAAAHHHH! IT'S A N-N-N-EEDLE!" Goku screeched, his voice getting higher and higher as the doctor got closer with the shot, "PLEASE LET ME GO! GOHAN! GOTEN! PLEASE! I'LL DO ANYTHING!"

"Mr. Son calm down please!" Dr. Hughes said, flustered, "I haven't even stuck you yet!"

"Unbelievable," Chichi snorted with disgust as she crossed her arms and headed for the door, "you're such a baby, Goku, I'm leaving."

"AHH, CHICHI WAIT!" Goku hollered, "PLEASE STAY!

"There!" the doctor said, removing the needle from Goku's arm, "you're done."

"CHICHI COME BACK PLEASE!"

"Dad! It's over!" Gohan shouted, struggling to restrain his father, "he stuck you already!"

"WAAAH LET ME GO! PLEASE!"

"Daddy, calm down!" Goten struggled, "he's already done it!"

"PLEASE DON'T DO IT! I'LL DO ANYTHING! JUST PLEASE DON'T—"

"DAD!" Goten and Gohan shouted in unison, causing their father to stop struggling, "it's over! Calm down!"

"Huh?" he asked them, sounding confused. He then looked to his right and saw a sesame street Band-Aid on his shoulder, exactly like the one his son had, "oh, I see, erm."

By now Goku was blushing furiously at the scene that he'd caused. Not to mention his two sons who were downright mortified as they left the room. They checked out with the nurse at the front desk who eyed Goten's tail suspiciously as they left, and who had said that Chichi had left a few minutes ago.

"We should probably go find your mother," Goku said awkwardly to his sons as they exited the building, "I'll bet she's pretty mad right about now too."

"Yeah I'd say you'd better call up Bulma and ask if you can crash at her place tonight," Gohan said, taking out his phone and checking it for messages from Videl. It was only nine-thirty so he figured she wouldn't be up yet.

"Daddy you were such a baby!" Goten reminded his father, smiling cheekily at Goku, who blushed, "I didn't even cry when I got mine and I'm only seven!"

Goku didn't respond to that comment and instead searched the area for his wife's ki signal. After finding nothing and after asking Gohan, who had also found nothing, he decided that she probably was off walking blowing off steam somewhere and didn't want to be talked to.

Goku took his boys home shortly afterwards after a few more minutes of failed searching. It wasn't until he arrived back home that he realized that he'd sweated through his entire shirt stressing about the shot. He decided he'd take a bath, so he went outside to get the barrel and fire ready.

"Hey Gohan! Goten!" Goku called from outside as he stripped off his sweaty clothing, "the bath is ready!"

"Great!" Goten called, throwing off his clothes as he ran out of the house into the rain, which was now pouring down on them, "man I love taking baths in the rain!"

"Yeah It's great!" Gohan called, who walked out behind his brother, carrying towels.

"You know, Gohan," Goku said as Gohan stepped into the warm water, "your birthday is on Sunday! You're gonna be seventeen!"

"Oh my gosh I guess it is!" Gohan said, genuinely surprised. He'd been so busy worrying about first Buu and then the whole business with Videl and his family that he'd completely forgotten about it, "I totally forgot!"

"Wowie, Gohan!" Goten said sounding amazed that a person could be so old, "you're _old_."

"I'm not old!" Gohan said, blushing slightly as he crossed his arms, "at least I'm not a little kid like someone I know."

"Hey, I am not little!" Goten said defensively, puffing out his cheeks angrily.

"Guys, guys! Calm down!" Goku said, laughing, "anyway, Gohan, what do you want for your birthday?"

"Umm," Gohan said, scratching his cheek, which was now sporting a respectable amount of stubble, "I have no idea actually! I'm pretty happy with what I've got!"

At Gohan's response Goten looked around the area uncomfortably, trying not to look at his brother or father. He had no idea what he was going to get his brother, and even if he did, he didn't have any money to buy it with.

The guys talked a little bit more for a while, recalling that morning's craziness, and Goten proudly showing off his tail. Before too long however, they heard the phone ring from inside, and Gohan sprang up to answer it.

"It's for you, dad," Gohan said, smiling slightly as he walked out to the barrel with the handset, covering it with his hand to protect it from the rain, "it's mom, and she doesn't sound happy."

"Uh, ok," Goku said apprehensively, reaching out to his son to take the phone, "H-hello?"

"GOKU WHERE ARE YOU?" came a roar from the other side of the line that made Goten jump in the bath, "I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR TWO HOURS FOR YOU TO GET ME!"

"Chichi, honey!" Goku said weakly as Goten and Gohan both started to laugh, "Relax! We tried to find you we really did, but you were masking your energy! Where are you anyway?"

"I'm at Bulma's for your information," Chichi said with a huff, "I would have thought that you could figure that out."

"Ok, Ok," Goku said, jumping out of the tub and pulling on his pants, "I'll be there in just a minute, hold on."

"You better be," she snorted.

"Ok, I'm gonna go get your mom, guys," Goku said as he put on his shirt, "meanwhile, why don't you kick out the fire and empty the water, ok?"

"Sure thing, dad," Gohan said as he beckoned for Goten to get out, "don't get killed, ok?"

With that, Goku was gone. Goten got out, and the two of them emptied the barrel in river and kicked out the fire that was underneath it.

It didn't take long for Goku to return—the two boys knew that their father was back by the sound of things being thrown and shouting in the kitchen. Chichi was obviously still furious at her husband. Gohan felt bad though—it wasn't dad's fault that he was afraid of needles, it was like a dog is afraid of lightning storms, i.e., unconditional. He felt like his mom was way overreacting, but that was her M.O. so he supposed he couldn't blame her either.

Goten and Gohan went back inside and found their father cowering in a corner of the room and their mother with her back to him at the sink, washing plates.


End file.
